730 Days of Convergence
by EcoSeeker247
Summary: Titan News. The main place to hear and read all the news on Titan Station, and there's always something new to discover. So when one of the Titan News's journalists decides to write a story about the Sprawl's very own Church of Unitology, she winds up getting much more than she bargained for as she digs further and further for answers, even the ones she may not want to find.
1. Chapter 1

Okay! This is a new idea I thought of. I wanted to try and write a story about the Church of Unitology and delve more into the Unitologist characters in _Dead Space_. I don't see a lot of stories about the Church, so I thought I'd try and write one of my own. I hope you enjoy this story!

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs (Riley, Madison, Sutton, Marcus, and Delia) and plot are mine. Everything else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

**WARNING: **There are _Dead Space 1, Dead Space 2, _and _Dead Space: Aftermath _spoilers throughout this story.

* * *

"_Have you ever felt like you were meant to be part of something bigger? __Then maybe Unitology is for you. Founded two hundred years ago by our savior, Michael Altman, Unitologists believe that one day, all mankind will be united through the power of a sacred artifact known as the Marker. We call this process Convergence. Imagine it. All mankind, brought together. With one purpose. With one mind. With one soul. No war. No fear. No hate. If that sounds like an ideal world to you, then look no further. Convergence is coming. And Unitology…is helping it happen.__"_

* * *

_**February 17**__**th**__**, 2509-Titan News Headquarters**_

Another long day at the office.

Riley Bennett sighed as she continued to type away at her computer, not taking her eyes off the screen. If she didn't take a break soon, she was going to scream. She glanced down at the corner of the screen and saw it was 4:15 in the afternoon.

_Just a little bit longer in this place, and then I can leave, _she thought, stealing a glance out the window. It was the same view every time, and she couldn't help but feel bored by it all. She was out in space; things never changed out there. Saturn was still close by, and the sprawling "skyscrapers" of Titan Station greeted her as well.

Suddenly someone knocked on her door, and Riley immediately whirled around and returned to the computer, pulling up a different window. "Come in!" she called out.

The door opened, revealing her best friend, Madison Kincaid. "Hey, Riley!" she greeted, "I just thought I'd drop by and see what you're doing. What's going on?"

"Oh, not much," Riley replied, "I'm almost finished with my article. I just have to run it over to the editing room and then presto! I'm all done." She smiled, thinking about how great it would be to just abandon her work and wind down for a little bit. Although she loved her job, twelve hour shifts every day could be tiring sometimes.

Madison looked pleased. "Really?" she asked, "What are you writing about?"

At this question, Riley hesitated. She wanted nothing more than to share her work, but she knew now wasn't the appropriate time. If she showed Madison her latest project, her best friend wouldn't be too thrilled. "Just about the rise in unemployment for the CEC," she lied, "After what happened on the _Ishimura _last year, it's gotten bad and it's only gonna get worse from here."

"Right, the _Ishimura,_" Madison said, nodding sagely, "Sutton was telling me about that earlier today before she headed out. Her boyfriend, Marcus, is with CEC."

Sutton Fields was Riley's other best friend, and she, Sutton, and Madison were inseparable. Growing up together on the _Sprawl_ had been a big factor. They had all attended the same elementary school together, hung out together, and supported each other if anything bad happened.

"How's he holding up with all this?" Riley questioned.

Madison shrugged. "He seems to be all right, but he hardly talks about the situation. Only to Sutton." She then brightened up.

"Hey!" she cried, "There's this cool new bar that opened near the Concourse. Since Sutton's with Marcus, wanna go out for drinks with me and Delia after we get off from work?"

Riley wanted nothing more than to just relax and go out with her friend and boss, like they always did, but tonight, she had more important things on her mind. This was the first time she had ever passed up an invitation to go out for drinks. "I'd like to, but I can't," she acquiesced, "I…have some things to take care of at home."

Madison looked slightly disappointed, but then perked up again. "Oh, okay," she said, "We'll miss you, though."

Riley frowned. "I'll miss you guys, too," she replied, "But we'll get together tomorrow night. How's that?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you later!"

And with that, Madison flipped her long, blond hair over her shoulder and left the room.

_Whew, _Riley thought, wiping her forehead in relief, _That was a close one_. As soon as Madison shut the door behind her, Riley minimized the article about the CEC and returned to what she was _really _working on. She pushed some strands of light brown hair out of her eyes as she focused on the screen. It killed her not to tell Madison or Sutton what she was up to, but they would understand in the long run. The only one other than her that knew about this was Delia West, her boss, and she wanted it to stay that way.

Riley printed out two copies of the true article and packed one of them away in her bag. That one was for her own eyes. The other was for Delia. Once she was finished with that, Riley closed down her computer and gathered her things, heading for Delia's office.

"Hello, Riley," Delia greeted as soon as Riley entered the room, "How's it going?"

Riley held out the article. "I got it," she announced, handing it over. She watched as her boss quickly scanned the contents of the paper and felt a little nervous.

"This is good," Delia complimented, "Very good. Sounds like you're prepared to take on this task. Are you sure you want to do this? You know who you're about to deal with, right?"

Riley sighed. "Of course," she said, "I'll be careful. I promise."

"You better be. You've always been one of my most level-headed employees. Just remember that."

Riley took another deep breath. "I'll remember that," she repeated.

"Good." Delia smiled. "See you tomorrow."

Nodding, Riley left the office.

* * *

"_Titan News,_" a man announced from the high-tech television in Riley's living room, "_The news YOU care about from around the Station, delivered 11 hours a day._" A catchy jingle played in the background, along with the symbol for EarthGov. Suddenly, the screen switched over to the news anchor, along with a picture of the _USG Ishimura _and Aegis VII, the planet the _Ishimura _had cracked open last year.

"_And in our top stories tonight, Dr. Isabel Cho has confessed to being the mastermind behind the terrorist attacks on the USG Ishimura, Aegis VII, and the USG O'Bannon. She is currently being detained by EarthGov for further questioning…_"

Riley leaned back on her couch, taking a sip of wine as she watched the news clip play over and over again. Pictures of Isabel Cho appeared one right after the other, between pictures from her college days and others where she wielded a machine gun in her hands. Her expression was blank, Riley noticed, but this was hardly surprising. _EarthGov probably tortured that confession out of her, _she thought bitterly, drinking some more wine and resting her arm against the arm rest next to her.

She considered Cho again and was thankful that nothing like what had happened on the _Ishimura _had happened on Titan Station. She would hate to think of what would happen if she ended up being uprooted from her Titan Heights apartment.

Riley Bennett didn't like change too much. Or EarthGov, despite the fact that _Titan News _was owned by EarthGov. _Great, _she thought, rolling her eyes, _I'm an EarthGov employee. But it's a job, which I love and appreciate every day. _

She'd just love it even more if it wasn't affiliated with the government.

Riley wasn't even sure _why _she hated EarthGov so much, but she knew there was a reason. She just couldn't figure out what it was yet.

She took another sip of wine as she reached for the article she had written for Delia, the one she hadn't wanted Madison to see. Ironically, there was a break in the news, which switched over to a commercial advertising Unitology.

Unitology. The fastest growing religion over the last two hundred years. Riley didn't know what to make of the New Age religion, but she cast aside her opinions on it for the time being as she read the article.

"_Well, today's the day. I've finally heard back from Daina Le Guin, and she's decided that I'm to meet her at the Church tomorrow evening. She wants to go over the…'basics' of Unitology with me, but I think she really just wants to see what kind of person I am. What she won't know, however, is that I'm not planning on joining the Church of Unitology at all. I'll be going in as an undercover journalist to see what secrets her religion is packing. This shouldn't be a problem; nobody outside my circle of friends and family sees me, and as long as I use a pseudonym, things should go according to plan." _

Riley finished reading the article and sighed, realizing that she'd left one of the most important parts out: her reasons for wanting to do this. She found herself glancing at a picture of her, Madison, and Sutton that was taken a few years ago. She took in Sutton's medium length black hair and light blue eyes, and she sighed to herself. After putting the picture down, she reached for an audio log and began to record herself speaking in that. She had been doing this for the last year after her therapist had suggested it to her. That was another story in itself.

_ "Now, anybody who doesn't know me is probably wondering why I'd even want to get involved with Unitology. Well, to tell you the truth…it's Sutton. I know she's going out with Marcus, but other than that, Madison and I hardly see her anymore, and frankly, it's starting to make me worried. Sutton can be…secretive sometimes, and if either Madison or I asked her, she would beat around the bush. We know she's joined the Church, but I have no idea what she's doing with them, so that's why I'm doing this. From what I've seen, all the Unitologists are extremely devout, and highly critical of those who don't follow them. So why is Sutton getting involved with them? She's never shown interest in the Church before, and she's pretty grounded, so this definitely isn't like her at all. I'm hoping to find some answers from all this. Fortunately, I know what times Sutton attends church, so I'll go at a different time so that she doesn't catch on. I just hope I can get her out of there before it's too late. And bring some of the church's secrets to light, while I'm at it._"

Riley hit the Stop button and closed her fist around the audio log, feeling better already. Sometimes, she just needed to vent.

And she had a _lot _to vent about. Her therapist helped, but she was hoping for something…more. Perhaps in understanding why Sutton was all of a sudden flocking to the church of Unitology, Riley would get the answers she wanted.

With that, she retired to her room, trying to get to sleep as early as possible so that she could calm herself down. She had to admit she was nervous; what would Daina Le Guin have in store for her tomorrow?

She'd just have to wait and find out.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to everyone who's been reading so far! Here's the next chapter!

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and plot (including some aspects of Unitology culture) are mine. Everything else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

* * *

_**The next morning…**_

_Ring! _

The audio RIG next to Riley's bed rang loudly, waking Riley up as she fumbled in the darkness to reach it. "H-hello?" she asked in a groggy voice.

"_Morning, Riley!_"

At the sound of the voice on the other side, Riley sat up in bed and felt a little more awake already. "Oh hi, Mom," she greeted, pushing some hair out of her face, "You're calling awfully early."

"_Well, your father and I know you're heading out to work very soon, so we just wanted to give you a call. How's everything at the apartment?_"

Riley quickly looked around at the clean, spacious room she was in. "Real peachy keen," she answered with a sleepy smile on her face, "Today should definitely be interesting, that's for sure."

"_Oh yeah? How?_"

Riley sighed as the full weight of what she would be doing later today hit her. _I'm going to be joining the Church of Unitology, _she thought to herself.

"Just a new project I'm taking on at work, but I can't talk about it right now."

She could hear her mother sigh from her end. "_Riley…_" she began.

"What?" Riley asked, "What's the matter?"

"_We told you about keeping secrets from us. You know why your father and I don't like that._"

Right. Riley closed her eyes as she listened to her mother continue to talk about how the Bennetts never kept secrets from each other. While she held the phone to her ear, she felt her good mood begin to evaporate. And not just from listening to this lecture.

"_Oh, Fiona_," she heard her father speak up from the back, "_You can trust Riley. I know I do. I'm sure whatever it is, she'll tell us about it later._"

"_But Ed! I don't like this!_"

"_Neither do I, but we have to trust her. We promised her we would trust her._"

"Mom! Dad!" Riley shouted, interrupting their quasi-argument, "You guys don't have to worry about me. It won't be like…you know. I promise. I just need to carry this out in secret right now. When I'm finished, I'll tell you guys everything." She took a deep breath, nervously waiting for her parents' response.

Finally, after what seemed like a few agonizing minutes, her mother returned to the phone. "_You're right, Riley,_" she said, "_We promised we would trust you, and we'll keep that promise. But don't forget about us, either. No matter how old you are, you're still our daughter, and we'll always be worried about you._"

Riley smiled weakly. "I know. I'll talk to you later. I love you."

And with that, she hung up the audio RIG. She lingered in bed for a minute as she buried her face into her hands, trying not to burst into tears.

Suddenly, her RIG beeped, reminding her that she had to start getting ready for the day. Riley turned off the communicator, headed into the bathroom, shrugged out of her pajamas, and hopped into the shower, welcoming the warm water on her skin. She stood under the showerhead, cleaning herself as she tried not to start crying again. This past year had been…rough, for her parents and herself. Ever since the terrorist attacks on the _USG Ishimura_, her parents-her mother in particular-had been a lot more paranoid than before. Riley herself had been trying to deal with what had happened, but she did not let her sadness interfere with her friends or job. She found ways to deal with it, but sometimes, she wondered if it was enough.

Riley shook her head and finished showering, drying off and crossing back into her room where she picked out her outfit for the day. But first…

She reached into her closet and pulled out her Civilian RIG, which the director of the _Sprawl_, Hans Tiedemann, had declared it mandatory to wear at all times. Not that anything terrible was going to happen here, but Riley wouldn't argue with that. A wry smile grew on her face as she wrapped it around her midsection and hooked the straps together, making sure the bars on her spinal cord were facing the back. She had added her own personal touch to her RIG: she had colored it with her favorite color, green, and added some flowers to the drawing as well. She had always been different from her friends, and she wasn't ashamed of it.

_It's better than looking like everyone else on this station, _she thought, getting dressed and grabbing her things for work. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

By the time Riley got to the Titan News Headquarters, she couldn't help but notice something different about her desk from the previous day. There was now a brochure with a picture of the Marker on it in place of her normal morning coffee. "The hell?" she muttered under her breath as she picked up the brochure and stared at the cover.

"Hi, Riley!"

Riley jumped and whirled around to face the doorway as the person greeting her laughed.

"Got you good, didn't I?" she chuckled.

"Hey, Sutton," Riley retorted, breathing a sigh of relief and smiling, "Yeah, you got me. What's up?" She sat down at her computer and turned it on so that she could log in.

"I picked this up for you last night," Sutton explained, pointing at the brochure, "Did you get to look at it yet?"

"Oh, this for me?" Riley joked, opening the tiny pamphlet to the first page, "Thank you. That's very…very thoughtful of you."

"There's a communal prayer tonight at 7:30. You and Madison should stop by!"

_Thanks, Sutton, _Riley thought to herself, _Now I know what time NOT to go to the Church. I can go a little later._ "How long are communal prayers usually?" she asked.

"About half an hour to an hour. Depends on if some of the priests want to talk for a little longer. But usually no longer than an hour." Sutton's face then brightened up.

"Honestly, Riley, you and Maddie have no idea what you're missing. Unitology is actually…okay. I just don't think we gave it a chance before."

Riley merely stared at her friend, not knowing _what _to say to that. This was coming from _Sutton Fields_, the girl who had kept _Riley_ grounded for the past year until she got herself together. And now…

"And you know this for a fact?" Riley quipped, "How long have you actually _been _a member of the Church?"

Sutton came crashing down from her Unitology high and frowned. "About a week now," she answered, "So what? I just wanted to try something new, and I think I've found my calling in Unitology."

_Oh my God, _Riley thought as her heart sank, _She did not just say that._ "What does Marcus think of all this?"

Sutton shrugged. "He just told me to be careful with the Unitologists, and I assured him that he had nothing to worry about. And neither do _you_, Riley. Nor does Madison. Maybe if you guys just attended a mass with me one of these days, you'd see." Suddenly, her RIG beeped, and she checked the reminder on a hologram she had pulled up.

"Gotta go," she announced, "I have to start my rounds at the hospital. Tell Madison I said hello, and don't forget to pass on my message."

Riley sighed and held up the brochure. "I'll make sure she gets the memo," she said in a dry voice, "And Sutton…don't forget your roots. Okay?"

"Riley…"

"I'm just saying!"

Sutton smiled. "You should know me better than this. I'll see you later." She ran out of the room and closed the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, Riley grabbed the Unitology brochure and shoved it beneath her desk, slamming the drawer shut a little more aggressively than she had intended. She couldn't help it, though; the fact that one of her best friends was already speaking like a Unitologist after only a week bothered her.

And the worst part was, Sutton didn't even realize she was doing it in the first place.

_What's happening to you, Sutton? _Riley thought to herself, _You're not sounding like yourself at all. What are they doing to you in that church? _

All the more reason to infiltrate the damn place and expose it for what it really was.

Although Riley didn't have too much of an opinion on Unitology at the moment, she knew that to her, it was sounding less like a traditional religion and more like a cult. She had seen some of them preaching throughout Titan Station, even though Director Tiedemann made it extremely difficult for them. They didn't seem to care about being oppressed; that clearly wasn't stopping them from recruiting new members, most of who seemed to be more coerced into joining rather than going voluntarily. Riley could safely say that she was one of the few she knew that was joining completely on her own free will. Maybe Sutton had, too.

She shook her head and pulled up the separate email account she had created specifically for this project, logging in and going back to the last message she had received from Daina. Picturing Sutton's brochure in her mind, Riley began typing a response.

"_Good morning, Daina. I am available tonight at 8:30. Is that a good time for you? Sincerely, Lauren Price._"

Riley sighed as she sent the message, and then returned to her normal work, researching more on the unemployment issues with the CEC. While she continued to type, she thought about the fake name she was about to go by.

Lauren Price.

She figured it was far enough away from her true name so that nobody would become suspicious. As long as nobody figured out the truth, she'd be fine. She'd hate to think of what would happen if she were to be exposed. The Church would target her, possibly even going after her parents as well…

She couldn't let that happen. She _wouldn't _let that happen. They had suffered enough, and they didn't need this on top of it.

_Ding! _"Huh?" Riley gasped under her breath, "An email already? That was fast." She pulled up the screen for her email again and saw there was a new message from Daina Le Guin.

"_Good morning, Ms. Price. 8:30 tonight works for me. Meet me at the entrance to the Church right outside the Cassini Towers. I have enclosed the tram schedule and directions to go from there, just in case you have not previously visited the Church. I look forward to our meeting. Warmest regards, Daina Le Guin._"

Sure enough, Riley spotted the directions and schedule in the attachments. Good thing, too, because out of all her years of living on the _Sprawl_, she had never visited the Church or the Cassini Towers. Her family had the choice to either live there or go to Titan Heights, but since the apartments in the Cassini Towers were mostly inhabited by Unitologists, the Bennett family had chosen Titan Heights. Riley couldn't imagine being a non-Unitologist, having to live there and listen to the constant preaching.

_Well, I'm about to hear it tonight, _she thought to herself as she entered the coordinates for Daina's directions into her RIG. Suddenly, this day couldn't go by any slower.

* * *

"And _that's _how I ended up landing this job at Titan News," Madison said as she concluded her story about how she'd first starting working at the same job as Riley. As of now, she and Riley were sitting in the new bar near the Concourse as they sipped on cool, fruity drinks. Although Riley was engaged in the conversation, she occasionally glanced at the watch built into her RIG. Right now, it was 7:45 PM.

"Riley?" Madison asked, noticing her friend's lapse in attentiveness.

Riley looked up from her watch. "Oh! Sorry," she apologized, "I'm listening."

Madison chuckled tentatively. "You sure?" she asked, "You've been glancing at your watch the whole time we've been at this bar. Do you have somewhere you need to be?"

"Not right now," Riley assured her with a smile, "In a little while, I have to leave, though. But I'm all yours right now."

"Good. Because I barely see Sutton anymore and I don't want the same thing to happen to you."

"That won't happen. There's always Delia, too," Riley pointed out.

Madison stirred her drink. "Yeah, but that's not the same. I mean, going out with just my boss? Things were so much better when it was you, me, Sutton, and some of the others. Ever since she started her whole Unitology kick, things haven't been the same."

Riley looked down at her watch again. 7:50 PM. "I guess she's at that communal prayer right now," she mused, "Did she tell you about that?"

Madison nodded. "She did. She caught me during one of her breaks at the hospital. I've gotta say, I'm worried about her."

So Madison noticed Sutton's sudden change in behavior as well. "Me too," Riley agreed, "She got angry with me because I didn't want to go to the communal prayer with her. I don't know what's going on with her, but it's not normal."

"Maybe it's just a phase. I'm sure she'll come around."

"I hope you're right, Maddie," Riley said, finishing her drink, "I hope you're right. So listen, I've gotta go, but I'll see you tomorrow!"

Madison blinked. "Where are you going?"

"To take care of business for work," Riley answered, though she realized it wasn't entirely a lie, "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" She left a tip for the bartender and then exited the bar, looking to catch the tram to go back to her apartment. Once she made it, she immediately sprinted over to her room and shrugged out of her work clothes, selecting a green halter dress instead. She wasn't sure what the dress code for the church was, but she could figure that out later. For now, she'd wear her favorite color.

While she continued to apply makeup to herself, as well as run a brush through her hair, Riley heard her audio RIG beep. "_You have one new message,_" the accented female voice announced, "_Accessing message._"

The voice on the other end surprised her. "_Riley, it's Sutton. I just got back from the communal prayer. And you know what I asked for when it was my turn? That you and Madison would one day see the light. Life's too short not to try new things. Just wanted to tell you that. Altman Be Praised._" The message ended there.

At first, Riley didn't know _what _to say. _Oh…my God, _she thought, shaking her head. That woman who had just left that message couldn't have been Sutton. "Altman Be Praised?" she repeated in a sharp tone, refusing to believe that Sutton had just said that. This message didn't even sound remotely like her. The old Sutton would have more than likely scoffed at a phrase like _Altman Be Praised, _not repeated it to her friends.

Riley felt so incensed that she grabbed her audio RIG and chucked it across the room, watching as it slammed into the wall and slid to the floor with barely even a scratch. It had been designed not to break, but Riley wished it would so that she wouldn't have to hear that message again.

"Whatever," she mumbled, "I'll just delete it. _There_." She hit the delete button and then equipped the audio RIG to her wrist. She took one last look at herself in the mirror before heading out once again. _Time to put my plan into motion, _she thought, _And time to find out what the hell's happening to my friend. _

* * *

8:25 PM.

Daina Le Guin shuffled a few papers in her hands as she made her way over to the entrance of the Church. The communal prayer had ended almost half an hour ago, and she could still smell incense in the air. She felt a sense of purpose, like this was what she was meant to do with her life.

And now she was about to welcome someone else into the ways of Unitology.

Daina pushed a lock of blond hair out of her eyes, wondering what the new member would be like. Would she immediately be taken with the ways of the Unitologists? Or would she have to be educated first?

Only time would tell.

Suddenly, the sound of heels reached her ears, and Daina looked up just as a young woman stepped out of a side door in the Cassini Towers. _That must be her, _she thought as a grin spread across her face. It was wonderful meeting people who were so willing to accept their eventual death and the words of Michael Altman. It was better than the usual jeers and catcalls that Unitologists had to endure. Daina recalled a few times she had been publicly ridiculed, but she had kept right on preaching. She was not ashamed of her beliefs and neither were her brethren.

She watched as the woman approached her, and Daina couldn't help but notice the way she carried herself. She was wearing a long, green dress and white heels, and she had short, light brown hair and light green eyes. She couldn't have been older than twenty two years old, but it wasn't just that. There was a determined look in her eyes and a smile on her face, and she walked with confidence, something she didn't see in many of the recent members. Perhaps a little _too _much confidence, almost haughty in a way, which made Daina frown in disapproval. She took in the woman's choice of colors and secretly wondered if she was trying to mock the Church. Most of the Unitologists wore dark colors, like dark purple, blue, red, or even black. _I'll have to keep an eye on this one, _she thought, wiping the frown off her face and replacing it with a smile.

"Welcome!" she greeted, bowing slightly to the woman in front of her, "We've been expecting you."

"It's nice to finally meet you," the woman replied, shaking Daina's hand, "You must be Daina Le Guin. I'm Lauren Price."

She had a firm handshake, Daina noticed, and she spoke with confidence as well. _A strong woman, if not a little arrogant, _she thought to herself, _Interesting._

"It is good to see many of Titan Station's youth embracing the teachings of the Church," Daina said, "Come in, and we'll get started."

And with that, she turned and led "Lauren Price" into the Church itself.

From where she stood, Riley couldn't help but stare in awe at the spiraling structure in front of her. She had never stepped foot anywhere near this place before, so this was all new to her. Despite whatever misgivings she was starting to have towards Unitology, she had to admit the architecture was beautiful in a frightening way. Spiraling columns surrounded her on both sides, and the ceilings reached much higher than she originally thought. Arches resembling the Marker decorated the ceiling, and most of the rooms were bathed in a soft, blue light. Riley even picked up the smell of incense. All around her, she spotted papers written in the Unitology alphabet, and small Marker models lined the columns as well.

"So, Ms. Price," Daina began, "What can you tell me about Unitology?"

Riley tore her gaze away from one of the mini Markers and faced Daina. "You all worship an artifact called the Marker," she answered, "You believe that humans originated from an advanced alien race. Michael Altman founded it two hundred years ago on the belief that we would all be united after death through the power of the Marker in a process called Convergence. The government murdered him for spreading the word about the Marker, but you still spread his beliefs to this day."

If Riley was being completely honest with herself, Unitology's official documented origins sounded ridiculous to her, but seeing where she was…well, she couldn't exactly say that out loud. She was trying to get in the Church's good graces.

Daina nodded, looking pleased with the answer she'd received. "You're well-versed on Unitology history," she noted, "I'm impressed."

"Thank you," Riley thanked her, "I like to read."

"Well, it's certainly paid off. You'll fit right in here, but there are a couple of things I'd like to ask you to do first. Right this way."

Riley quickly followed Daina up a flight of stairs and through another obsidian door, making sure she didn't trip over the candles that were placed all over the floor. _Too many candles for comfort, _she thought, shaking her head.

"This is our assessment room," Daina explained, "If you'll step this way, you'll see desks with chairs right here. Before we continue, I'll need you to sit down and fill out a few forms."

Riley raised an eyebrow. "What forms?" she asked.

"These ones." Daina reached for the ones she had been carrying and set them down on the desk in front of Riley.

"You just need to answer a few questions, and afterwards, we'll determine your current standing with the Church."

_I wonder if Sutton had to do all this, _Riley thought as she took a seat, _This is all news to me. _"Okay," she said, "I hope the results will be good enough to let me continue to try and be a part of your Church."

Daina smiled warmly. "Oh, I'm sure it will be. Just contact this number when you're finished." She programmed a number into Riley's audio RIG, smiled again, and then turned to leave the room, shutting the door behind her. Riley sighed as soon as she was gone and flipped the paper over, realizing that the form was a personality and stress assessment. Normally, she hated tests that asked personal questions like the ones that were surely in this test.

_Here's to joining Unitology, _she thought, reaching for a pen to begin filling out the assessment.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another room, Daina walked as quickly as she could so that she could meet up with one of her fellow Unitologists. She punched a code in for the door and entered the room, spotting a man with black hair and brown eyes sitting behind the main desk.

"Hello, Franco," she greeted.

As soon as he heard her enter the room, Franco Delille looked up from the monitor. "Hey, Daina," he responded, "So, how was she?" Like Daina, Franco was also excited to hear about a possible new member of the Church. He had been devoted to the religion since he was a child, and he loved hearing about people who wanted to believe in the same ideas that he did.

"Not too bad, actually," Daina admitted, "She was surprisingly well-informed about our Church's history, as opposed to the others who don't know every little detail. I think we may have another member yet."

Franco grinned. "Great!" he cried, "I'm so happy to hear that!"

Daina nodded. "Yes," she agreed, "Only…"

With that, Franco's good mood waned a little bit. "What's wrong?" he pressed.

Daina began to pace back and forth as she raised her hand to her chin. "I can tell she wants to join us. She was very eager to meet with me tonight. However, I'm not so sure she will take to Unitology as quickly as all the others have. You should have seen the way she arrived at the Church earlier, walking with too much confidence. She has a clearly focused mind and appears to be extremely self-assured. I'm afraid she's one of the…stronger ones, so to speak."

Franco frowned as Daina's words sank in. "Ooo, that's bad," he commented, "So what are we going to do?"

"I'm not sure yet. She's filling out the assessment right now. Then we'll see. If she's to truly become one of us, we need to find out what her weaknesses are. I know they're there. And her assessment will reveal everything we need to know."

And with that, the two of them fell silent as they waited for "Lauren Price" to finish her forms.


	3. Chapter 3

Okay! Here's the next chapter! Thanks to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, and alerting. I really appreciate it!

And a message for the person who left me a Guest review: Thanks for your input as well! I am familiar with the Oracles and the events of _Dead Space: Martyr, _but I'm also adding my own ideas to the plot, so some things may or may not be tweaked a little bit. A lot of aspects of Unitology are speculation on my part, since the culture of the religion isn't really explored in the games. It's mostly about the Necromorphs, and I wanted to do a story about Unitology that didn't involve Necromorphs.

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and plot ideas (including some aspects of Unitology) are mine. Everything else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

* * *

_**Half an hour later…**_

_Okay, Riley, relax and breathe, _Riley told herself as she continued to pace around the assessment room, _You've got nothing to worry about. It was a personality and stress test. There's no right or wrong answers for those. _

So then why did she feel so nervous?

Riley stretched her arms over her head, flexing her fingers as she took some more deep breaths. That test had taken half her energy from her; there were so many specific questions about how she handled stress in relationships, stress at work, and more personal, touchy questions that Riley would have preferred not to answer. She had briefly wondered if she should fabricate answers to keep up the "Lauren Price" act, or be honest and answer as herself.

Honesty had won. _It's not like I'll buy into whatever bullshit they try to feed me anyway, _she told herself.

While she waited for Daina to return with her results, Riley decided to have a look around the room. More Marker figurines lined the walls, and she barely made out the sound of chanting on the other side of the wall. It was a somber sound. Somber, but reverent. Riley couldn't hear the words, but she was sure they had a lot of meaning. _These people are really into this cult-I mean, religion,_ she thought, turning away from the wall and pacing again.

_Lord, give me strength, _she silently prayed, clasping her hands together and sitting on top of her desk. She hardly thought of herself as being religious, but she found comfort in praying to a higher power every now and then, especially at this time.

"Ms. Price?"

Riley looked up as she spotted Daina standing in the doorway.

"Your results are ready. Right this way."

Riley wasted no time in following Daina out of the assessment room, which she had to admit had been starting to give her the creeps. Not as much as knowing her assessment was complete. What would happen from here?

Riley and Daina climbed a few more sets of stairs until Daina typed a code into the keyboard next to her, opening the door and leading Riley into the room. Unlike the assessment room, this office looked more like Delia's at Titan News, which made the undercover journalist feel slightly relieved. It was a nice change of pace to not have to see the Marker shoved in her face no matter where she turned.

"Please, have a seat," Daina suggested, patting a chair on the opposite side of her desk. Riley sat down as her heart began to beat faster again. She thought of Sutton the whole time she watched Daina flip through the various papers, eyeing each one as a smile formed on her face.

"So," Riley spoke up, "Did I pass?"

Daina looked up briefly, noticing the hint of sarcasm in the young woman's voice. She quickly made a note of that before laughing warmly. "I'm assuming the assessment left you troubled?" she asked, "Did you find some…aspects of yourself that you never even knew existed?"

Riley blinked in confusion, caught off guard by Daina's question. _What the hell is she talking about? _She thought, shaking her head as she cleared her throat. "No," she responded in a slightly sharp tone, "I just want to make sure my results are good enough to join the Church."

But Daina merely laughed again. "It's all right, Ms. Price," she said, "It's perfectly normal to feel confused when you get in touch with your inner self. Most of our members are quite disoriented in the beginning. Their biggest obstacle is looking inside themselves and finding those faults that make them human. They don't want to acknowledge their imperfections, but here in the Church, we believe in accepting yourself before accepting the word of Altman. And we all know every human has faults. Even _you_, Ms. Price."

Riley tensed up and felt her stomach turn, but she tried not to let it show on her face. _This must be how they try and suck you in, _she realized as Daina flipped through her assessment again.

"You answered very positively for the most part," she mused, "You have a strong personality. You appear to be a very hard-working and driven young woman. Good relationship with coworkers, friends, parents, and…ahh, what's this?" She stopped on one particular question.

"You didn't answer the question regarding your overall relationship with any siblings."

_Damn, _Riley thought, _I knew she was going to notice that one. _"No, I didn't," she said without even bothering to deny it.

Daina raised an eyebrow. "Why not?" she asked, "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Riley shrugged noncommittally as she remained silent. She hadn't wanted to answer it on the assessment and she certainly wasn't going to answer it now. She was here to join the Church, not be interrogated about her personal life. Did Daina try and probe all new members like this?

"Ms. Price?" Daina pressed, "I don't mean to sound as if I'm badgering you, but you were supposed to answer every question in the assessment. If there are any irregularities in the test, they need to be addressed."

"I don't want to talk about it," Riley declared in a firm voice. _Irregularities my ass, _she added as a silent afterthought.

Daina nodded and took note of that as well. _Refused to discuss any possible siblings, _she wrote on Riley's assessment before looking up again. "Very well," she said, "But understand that once you've been initiated into the church, your secrets will no longer be private. We have no shame in this Church, and there is nothing wrong with reaching out towards your brethren for help. Think of us as being one big family."

Riley bit her lower lip to keep herself from laughing. One big family? More like one big _cult_. The subtle smirk on her face disappeared once Daina looked up at her again.

"So did I make the cut?" she asked.

Daina wore a smirk of her own as she processed Riley's question. "I believe you have," she affirmed, shaking her hand, "Welcome to the Church, Ms. Price."

Riley allowed herself to smile as she returned the handshake. "Thank you. I'm sure my experiences with the Church will be very enriching."

"Indeed. Most of our members have become enlightened after spending some time in the Church, and I know you will be, too. We have no ties with EarthGov here. We know the government tried to stop Altman from spreading Unitology two hundred years ago, but as you can see, they have failed, and are continuing to fail to this day."

_That's the only good thing about this place, _Riley thought, _They despise EarthGov just like I do. _

"In the mean time, I'd like to give you these." Daina reached into a drawer and pulled out a five-piece set of books. Riley peered at the covers to see they all had to do with Unitology: _Teachings of Unitology, Tome of Unitology, Death Is Only the Beginning, Eternal Life, and Hymn Book_.

"It's very important for those being initiated into the Church to be well-versed in the teachings of Unitology. These were passed down from Altman himself, and are continuing to be updated with new findings. I think you'll find these very useful in your endeavor."

_I bet I have to pay for them, too, _Riley thought, _Hopefully not too much. _"How much does this set cost?" she asked.

"One hundred credits," Daina answered smoothly, which made Riley's mouth hang open in shock.

_One hundred credits for this? _She thought, _Is the Church out of its mind? _

She was about to protest when someone suddenly knocked on the door. "Come in!" Daina called out, and the door slid open after the person on the other side entered the code in the hi-tech keypad. Riley glanced over at the door and spotted a young woman not that much older than her. She was wearing a black dress, black heels, and her blond hair was wrapped up in a bun. She wore a neutral expression on her face, and Riley tilted her head to the side as she continued to study her.

"Yes, Lara?" Daina inquired, pushing the set of Unitology books out of the way.

The young woman, Lara, cleared her throat. "Okay," she began, "So I know I'm not supposed to bother you while you're in the middle of business, but I thought you should know that some of the priests are in talks about the Annual Unitology Symposium. They want to push the date forward to sometime next week."

Daina raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked, "Is there a reason they're making this request?"

Lara shrugged. "If there is, I don't know what it is. After all, I'm just the secretary." Riley couldn't help but pick up the resentful tone in her voice. If Daina caught it, she did a good job of hiding it.

"And a damn good one at that." Daina gestured to the woman, and Riley got up to shake her hand.

"Ms. Price, this is Lara Turner, my secretary," Daina explained, "And Lara, this is Lauren Price, our newest member of the Church."

When meeting new people, Riley expected any and all attitudes, but the way Lara Turner stared at her still caught her off guard. It was just like the same disapproving, judgmental look Daina had given her outside the Church…only ten times worse. Lara didn't even bother to hide her dislike for Riley, and even though the latter didn't expect everyone to like her, she couldn't understand why the secretary appeared to be judging her.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lara," she replied with a wide smile on her face.

"Wish I could say the same," Lara muttered under her breath.

"I'm sorry?"

"I meant, nice to meet you, too, Lauren," Lara spoke up in a louder voice.

"Lara," Daina piped up, "This is no way to treat a new member of our family. I've told you this before."

Lara bowed her head in embarrassment. "Sorry," she apologized in a genuinely contrite tone.

"Don't mind her, Ms. Price," Daina said to Riley, "She still has a lot to learn about respect."

"Right," Lara agreed, "I'll just be going. Bye, Ms. Le Guin, Lauren." With one last withering glance at Riley, Lara turned and hurried out of the room.

"And that was Lara Turner," Daina explained, "Don't tell anybody, but I'm considering firing her. She's been giving the Church a lot of trouble lately."

"Oh," was all Riley said, and she was suddenly curious about that, "What's that Annual Unitology Symposium she was talking about before?"

Daina leaned back in her seat and smirked again. "Why don't you come back next week and attend the event for yourself? After all, you're now part of the Church. I think you could learn a lot from the Symposium."

_Yes, _Riley thought. "I think I will," she declared with a wide smile on her face, "I'm looking forward to it."

"Good. I will send you more information about it as the week goes on. In the meantime, read these books and familiarize yourself with Altman's words. Thank you for choosing the Church of Unitology, Ms. Price."

Riley reluctantly forked over one hundred credits and then tucked the books underneath her arm. She shook hands with Daina again and decided it was time to leave the Church. She hurried through the quiet halls, taking in the image of the Marker on both sides.

_One hundred credits for books that I'll more than likely burn once this is all over, _she thought, shaking her head and wondering which one she'd read first.

"You are the biggest idiot I've ever met."

Riley whirled around just as the owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows. "_Excuse me?_" she asked.

"You heard me," Lara Turner continued, "You're an idiot. And I'm not sorry for calling you that."

Riley raised an eyebrow, instantly turned off by the secretary's attitude. "What's your problem?" she cracked, "I thought you Unitologists _weren't _supposed to be judgmental. I don't know who you think you are, but you have no right to judge me."

Lara just shook her head as she grabbed the five-piece set out of Riley's hands. Riley wouldn't have minded to get rid of the books, but she had to keep up her act. "Hey, give those back!" she snapped, snatching the books back again.

Lara laughed. "You really are clueless," she commented, "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, do you? When did you decide you wanted to believe in Altman?"

Riley frowned. "You think that you know everything about everyone she admits into the Church?" she hissed in response, "Well, you don't know me, or why I'm converting to Unitology, so I suggest you stop making assumptions about me."

"And _I _suggest that _you _stop what you're doing before it's too late. You really don't know what this Church is capable of. I've heard some nasty rumors, but I can't talk about them. Unitology Secrecy Code. And for your information, most of the people Daina accepts into the Church eventually lose their sanity. But you don't seem like that at all. No. You seem to be a very grounded woman, and I don't understand why you're _willingly _joining the Church. After a while, all the full members end up the same. This place does something to them."

_Wow, _Riley thought to herself, _If only she knew what my plans are. I'm hardly becoming a member. And I'll never know what's happening to Sutton if I don't join. _"And I suppose _you _couldn't tell me anything about Unitology?" she questioned.

"Nope," Lara said, shaking her head, "Hell, I'm one of them-not a full member, mind you-and even _I _don't know what they do to the new full members. The only thing I know is that most of them turn into crazed fanatics afterwards. All I can do is warn you."

Riley considered what Lara was saying. Even though she didn't like the way the secretary had spoken to her so far, she also acknowledged the fact that she was a Unitologist. A _Unitologist _trying to warn her about her own faith, which instantly struck Riley as odd. Not a full Unitologist, but a Unitologist nonetheless. It made her think that whatever was going on behind the closed doors of the Church had to be something horrifying, especially if Lara herself didn't know.

"Look," Riley quipped, "I appreciate the warning, although you could've done that without insulting me, but just hear this: I'm not going to be like those other members. You could say that I like to stand out from the crowd, and it won't be any different here."

Lara blinked before laughing, stepping closer to Riley. "You think you're strong enough to resist Unitology's influence?" she asked, "I'd like to see you try and become a lifelong member of the Church _without _turning into a fanatic."

"I won't turn into a fanatic," Riley declared.

Lara shrugged. "Fine. Suit yourself. I tried to warn you. From here on out, everything that happens to you here is on you. Good luck."

* * *

"Ahh," Riley sighed as she climbed into her bathtub once she got home. She glanced up at the showerhead as she slid underneath the bubbles, welcoming the warm water. She had to laugh to herself, as this bubble bath made her think of herself as trying to purge her body of the Church.

Which, in a sense, was _exactly _what she was doing.

Riley closed her eyes and tilted her head back, laying in the water for the next few minutes as she continued to think about her visit to the Church. She was surprised that Daina accepted her so quickly; she hadn't expected her to even consider her. But there was no denying that there had been something sinister about Daina. The way she had smirked at her was unnerving, almost as if she knew something that Riley didn't. A chill went down her spine, but she shook it off. She wasn't going to let one little smirk bother her, but she _was_ starting to regret not having answered the sibling question, realizing that perhaps she should've made something up.

_Ugh, _she thought, tilting her head back, _I guess it's time to make another recording. _

After finishing her bath, Riley left the bathtub, changed into her pajamas, and crossed back over into her bedroom, reaching for her audio log. She checked to make sure she wouldn't record over her first log, sighed, and then pressed the Play button.

"_Well…it looks like I'll be joining the Church. Daina accepted me rather quickly, which makes me wonder what she's cooked up in that brain of hers. She had this sly look on her face when I said I didn't want to talk about the sibling question on that assessment. So sue me for not wanting to talk about it. It's none of her business and she had no right to try and pry like that. _

_ "And now she wants me to attend the Annual Unitology Symposium next week, whatever that is. The thing is…it's perfect for my plan, only I'm starting to have doubts now. Daina's secretary, Lara, tried to warn me not to join the Church, but there's no way I'll know about Sutton if I don't. As long as I can get out with the information I want before I get more deeply involved, that's all that matters. And I refuse to let them try and brainwash me in any way. That's all it is: brainwashing. It's like they make an excuse to find something wrong with you, and they glom onto that. I don't know if that's truly the case, but it sure seems like it to me. It's already happening to Sutton, but it's not going to happen to me, no matter what sort of tactics the Church may use._"

Riley finished recording and sighed again, rubbing her temples. This was only her first day on her new project and she was already feeling worn out. Her bed looked very inviting, so she crawled under the covers. Even after all that, she _still _couldn't just fall asleep.

"Maybe some bedtime reading will do the trick," she said sarcastically as she opened her new set of books, took out _Teachings of Unitology_, opened it to the first page, and began to read.

* * *

"Our brief meeting is now in session," Daina announced as she and Franco stood in front of a line of priests. They all bowed before taking their seats.

"Now as I understand it," Daina continued, "Most of you want the Symposium to be moved to sometime next week?"

Some of the priests glanced at each other while others nodded tentatively. Daina and Franco paced around the sea of dark purple, red, dark blue, and black cloaks as they surveyed the group.

"Nobody's angry," Franco assured them, "We just want to know why."

One of the other Unitologists stood up and removed his hood. "Well," he began, "We figured…why wait until later when we could start proposing new ideas now? Maybe more ways to recruit new members, because we haven't been getting too many recently. And I'm tired of being publicly humiliated. Better to host the Symposium now than wait for Tiedemann and his men to run us off the streets."

"That hasn't stopped us in the past," Franco reassured him, "I don't like people heckling me anymore than you do, but that shouldn't stop you from continuing to spread your beliefs. We have just as much right to voice our opinions as EarthGov. Or any other faction, for that matter."

Another priest stood up as well. "I still think we should start getting as many new members as possible," he concurred, "Oh, I know! We could open the Symposium to the public this year, instead of just people in our faith!"

"Do you really think that'll work?" the first priest asked.

"I don't know, but we could try!"

Daina considered the idea. "That might not be such a bad idea," she mused, "It has promise. We'll definitely look into that. Thank you." The priest nodded and sat back down.

"Oh, and Franco," Daina continued, facing Franco, "I was right. Ms. Price's assessment did reveal a weakness. Take a look for yourself." She handed him the papers, along with the notes she had made concerning "Ms. Price's" refusal to talk about siblings.

"Siblings?" Franco echoed, "That's her weakness?"

"When I asked her about it, she became incredibly defensive. There's something going on there. I can tell."

Franco put the papers down and ran a hand through his hair. "Well at least there's _something_," he commented, "So what do we have in mind?"

"I have an idea," Daina said, facing not only Franco, but the rest of the priests as well, "After next week's Symposium, I want to initiate Lauren Price into the Church of Unitology."


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks again to everyone who's been reading and reviewing this story! I really appreciate it, and things should start moving a little faster after this chapter.

Now time to answer some guest reviews:

Guest: Other than this story, I'm not sure if the events of _Martyr_ will fit into any of my other _Dead Space_ stories yet. It's sort of explored in my story, _Dead Space: Journey into Darkness, _but that's it. Just the paradise part, but nothing else.

The Newcomer: I already knew all that about Franco, but I appreciate the input all the same.

And to the person who keeps sending me reviews about possible _Silent Hill _stories: I've never played those games, so chances are I won't be doing "sucked in" stories for that series. Maybe in the future, if I manage to buy the games, but unfortunately, not anytime soon.

Oh, and one more thing before I end this author's note: If you're sending me a guest review and you notice it doesn't show up right away, please don't send the same review over and over again. The reason guest reviews don't show up right away is because I have to approve them first (there's a new feature that allows users to approve anonymous reviews before letting them be posted). So don't panic if you don't see your review right away. It just means I have to approve it and then it'll show up. Thanks again!

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and plot ideas are mine. Everything else belongs to Visceral Games/EA.

* * *

_**One week later…**_

"Yo, DeMaio!"

Marcus DeMaio glanced up from the engines he had been agonizing over for the last hour. Ever since the CEC had announced that there was going to be another round of engineers being let go, Marcus worked even harder now to make sure that he wasn't one of them. Money was tight, and he needed it more than anybody realized.

"What's up, Rivers?" he asked the person who had greeted him. He returned to the engines as the CEC engineer, whose nametag read _Warren Rivers_, entered the room.

"Ellie wants to know when those new engines on the transport ship will be finished," Rivers explained, "She wants to make another shipment before the day is out."

_Oh, right, _Marcus thought, rubbing his eyes as he thought about one of his coworkers.

Ellie Langford.

Fortunately, she wasn't affected by the company's latest decision. The CEC still needed Heavy Equipment Pilots, and despite her relatively young age, she had a lot more experience than Marcus had realized. _A Class Four Heavy Equipment, nonetheless, _he thought, _How'd she manage that? _

"Tell her they're almost ready," he said, returning to his computer, "I've just got to finish the order and then they're all set."

"Efficient as always, eh, DeMaio?" Rivers commented, "That's why we trust you with all our jobs. At least, more than some of the others. You're one of the only ones with a clear head these days. I can't say the same for some of the others."

_Like Sutton, _Marcus thought, his smile fading as he thought about his girlfriend again. He was supposed to go meet her at the hospital once his shift was over, but he couldn't stop thinking about her.

Rivers must have picked up on his slow mood shift. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Marcus sighed, his thoughts wandering back to Sutton. "I want to ask you something before you go," he said, "If someone you knew was starting to…to become unhealthily obsessed with something, what would you do?"

Rivers scratched the back of his head in confusion. "What's this all about, DeMaio?" he asked, "What's going on?"

_Should I tell him? _Marcus asked himself, _I guess I could. I've been keeping this to myself for too long, and it's not like Riley and Madison would take my side anyway. They're her best friends and would always support her. _"It's Sutton," he answered with a wistful sigh, "She joined the Church of Unitology a few weeks ago, and she's been acting strange ever since. She's all of a sudden trying to preach the word of Altman, and every time I try and tell her otherwise, she gets angry, and I'm tired of it. I'm scared that I'm going to eventually lose her if this keeps happening. I don't have anything against Unitology, but I'm worried she's digging a hole for herself that she can't get out of. I want to talk about it with her friends, but I don't think they'll take my side on this situation."

"You don't know that unless you ask," Rivers quipped, "Did you even _try _to talk to them about it?"

Marcus twiddled his thumbs. "Well…no," he admitted, "I guess I could try, and then maybe we can all figure something out."

"Now _that's _more like it," Rivers said, gathering his belongings, "Sometimes, you have to have faith in people."

* * *

After his shift was over, Marcus signed out through the computer and hurried over to the Titan Memorial Medical Center, where he proceeded to sign in at the main desk; most, if not all of the receptionists at the desk knew him by now. He wasn't only there for Sutton, and he knew she would know that as well.

He proceeded to take the usual route, climbing up the stairs until he arrived on the fourth floor, which contained stasis holding cells on all sides. He slowed down his pace until he ended up right in front of a specific one, sighing and running his hand along the glass while brushing some dark brown hair out of his eyes. His heart sank just from being here, but this visit was necessary.

Right next to the stasis unit was the name _Rochelle DeMaio _programmed into the small screen.

"Hey, Mom," he greeted in a soft whisper, "I know you can't…can't hear me right now, but I'm here. Just like I promised. Don't worry, I haven't been let go from the CEC yet, and I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen. There's a lot going on right now, though. I'm trying to keep my job so that I can help you and Dad, and now Sutton's getting seriously involved in Unitology. I'm trying to help everyone, but so far, I feel like I'm failing. This whole thing is starting to get to me, and I don't want to lose any more people that I love. The only other ones who could possibly help me are Riley and Madison, but Riley's been almost as secretive as Sutton these days. I have no idea what the hell she's up to, but I hope she isn't doing anything dangerous." He balled his hand into a fist and tried to keep it together. He had to, for himself, his mother, and his father.

Ever since an accident in the mines a few months back, his mother, a mine worker at the time, had lost consciousness and had been kept in stasis. He wasn't sure if this was the best solution for her, but he continuously sent his parents some of the money he made at the CEC in order to support them.

If only he could help Sutton as well.

Marcus ran his hand across the pod again, thinking of what else to tell his mother when a door slid open to his right. He blinked and looked up as two men entered the hallway, one of them being led by the arm. Marcus noticed he was wearing a straitjacket, and his whole stance appeared lethargic. _Sedated, maybe? _He thought.

However, he gasped as soon as the man glanced up at him. He had short, black hair and blue eyes, and Marcus could make out a patch on the outside of the straitjacket that had the number five attached to it. But that wasn't what made him gasp. No.

It was the fact that the man's right eye was bleeding a little bit.

_ Shit, _Marcus thought, _What happened there? _He huddled by his mother while he watched the doctor put this man back into his own stasis unit. He knew that the hospital also housed anyone with mental illnesses, but he was still curious all the same.

Suddenly, the doctor looked up and frowned. "Hey!" he called out, "What are you doing here?"

Marcus flinched, taken aback by the doctor's surly attitude. "I'm…I'm sorry," he apologized, "I was just visiting my mother, Doctor."

"Are you authorized to be in here?"

Marcus blinked in confusion. "What do you mean? Of course I'm authorized-"

"This is not a good time for you to be here, young man. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Now wait a minute! I've been coming here for the last few months! You can check the records! I'm Marcus DeMaio! I've been visiting my mother, Rochelle DeMaio."

"I'm sorry," the doctor apologized insincerely, "But-"

"It's okay, Doctor Edgars," a new voice piped up, "He's with me." Both men turned as Sutton approached them, moving to stand next to Marcus.

"Ahh, Nurse Fields," Edgars said, "You didn't tell me he was with you. He shouldn't be here by himself. You know that."

"I know, and I'm sorry," Sutton apologized, "It won't happen again. I guess the receptionists at the desk just let him come here. They all know him now."

"Just make sure he's not around here unsupervised anymore. Things are hectic around here and we can't afford any incidents." He frowned at Marcus one last time before stalking away, and as soon as he was gone, Marcus allowed himself to breathe.

Sutton picked up on how nervous her boyfriend was, so she leaned in and quickly kissed him. "You okay?" she whispered.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine now," Marcus assured her, "Just curious, that's all. What was that all about?"

Sutton shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. He's been acting strange for a while now since EarthGov started showing up."

"EarthGov?" Marcus repeated, raising an eyebrow. _Riley hates EarthGov, _he thought, _Interesting._

"Yeah. It's best not to interfere with him, though. Come on."

Marcus sighed and stole one last glance at his mother's pod before following Sutton into a side room. He cleared some books off the chair and sat down while Sutton rested on the desk. At first, there was an awkward silence between the two of them. Things had been like this since Sutton joined the Church, and if the nurse was being perfectly honest with herself, it bothered her. A _lot_.

"So…" she began, "How was your day?"

"All right," Marcus answered, "I fixed a few engines on some of the delivery ships. How about you?"

"The same. I was making my rounds, as usual, and one of the men I administered medicine to was criticizing Unitology. Kept going on about how it's nothing but brainwashing. A clueless infidel, if you ask me."

Marcus reached for a glass of water from the shelf behind him and took a sip. "An…infidel?" he echoed.

Sutton looked thoughtful. "Oh, right, I forgot you don't know," she said, "An infidel is someone who doesn't want to accept his or her eventual death. Only those that accept it are saved. All the others go to hell."

Although he knew it was wrong, Marcus had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. _She's not serious, is she? _He asked himself, hoping that this was one big joke. He managed to maintain his composure as he glanced up at his girlfriend again, noting the look on her face and realizing she was indeed one hundred percent serious.

"You don't seriously believe that, though," he retorted, "Do you?"

Once again, Sutton, wearing a completely serious expression on her face, nodded somberly. "If I didn't before, I do now," she answered, "Why? You don't think we should all accept that we're going to die one day, Marcus?"

"Honestly?" Marcus spoke up, "I know we're all going to die, but I don't want to think about death right now. It's too depressing. I say live in the present and enjoy it."

_How pathetic, _Sutton found herself thinking, and that surprised even her. She never remembered thinking such cruel thoughts before, and she felt slightly guilty. She knew Marcus was constantly worried about his mother, and if she said something like this to Riley, her friend would understandably bite her head off.

_That still doesn't mean we shouldn't acknowledge death, _she thought. "But it's still something to think about," she reasoned, "Every day, we get closer to death. Your mother's getting closer and you don't even want to acknowledge it."

_What the hell? _Marcus thought as he bristled. "No offense, Sutton," he apologized in a terse voice, "But I don't think this is the appropriate time to make a comment like that. Before Unitology, you would've been a lot more sensitive than this."

Sutton felt another stab of guilt, but would never admit that to her boyfriend. Even if she was growing fond of Unitology, she didn't want to hurt her friends in the process. "You know what?" she replied, "I just realized I have a ton of work to get back to before my shift is over, and then I'm going dress shopping with Riley and Madison. I should get to it now before Doctor Edgars scolds me again."

Marcus leaped up from his seat in indignation. "So that's it?" he spat, "No apology? You can't just make comments like that! Nobody wants to hear about death all the time, _especially _when they're worried about loved ones!"

"But you have no reason to be worried. Great things are waiting for us after death."

Marcus grew angry all over again and slammed his fist on the desk. "That's it," he declared, "I'm leaving. I can't deal with this right now. I'll talk to you later." Without so much as a glance towards his girlfriend, Marcus hurried out of the room while Sutton called out after him.

"You can't avoid death forever, Marcus! Convergence is coming! And we've got to be ready for it!" But Marcus ignored her.

_I've got to talk to Riley and Madison, _he thought, _And soon. _

* * *

_**Later on that day…**_

"Okay, Riley," Madison said as she plucked a short, sleeveless red dress off a hanger, "This is totally you!"

Riley turned around after inspecting a green dress on the opposite side of the room. She took the dress from Madison and examined it, noting how it only seemed to reach a little bit below her knees. She couldn't help but laugh as she held it against her body.

"Not bad," she decided, "Not bad at all. I wonder if I could get this same dress in green."

"I don't see why not," Madison replied, "Here, let me check…" She raced over to the panel on the other side and scrolled through the screen, watching as different pictures of the same dress flashed in front of her. Once she found green, she hit Select, which actually brought the dress out on a conveyor belt. Riley put down the red dress and took the green one in her hands.

"Perfect," she decided, "Do you think that…" She was just about to make a joke about the Church's dress code, but stopped herself at the last minute, for Sutton was in another corner of the room while she examined a long, black sleeveless dress.

The truth of the matter was, Riley wanted to buy a new dress for the Annual Unitology Symposium, which she had learned from Daina was going to be that evening at 7:00. After accepting Lara's challenge to try and stand out in the Church, she was determined to succeed, refusing to dress in dark, depressing colors. Well, depressing to _her_, anyway.

"Think that what?" Madison pressed, searching for a dress of her own.

"Never mind," Riley quickly said, "Anyway, I think I'm going to go with this one." She checked the price and saw it was on sale. _Even better, _she thought, _Cheaper than those stupid Unitology books Daina made me buy._

"All right, guys," Sutton spoke up from in front of the mirror, "What do you think of this one?"

Riley and Madison approached their other friend in order to investigate. Riley wasn't sure if it was her, but Sutton had been acting a little off since they'd started shopping about an hour ago. She hadn't said too much and mostly went off to do some shopping of her own.

"Cute," Madison assessed, "I like it. What's the occasion?"

Sutton shrugged. "No occasion," she answered, "I just felt like buying a new dress, that's all."

"Why don't you try it on?" Riley suggested, "So we can see how it looks on you?"

Sutton smiled. "Good idea, Riley," she agreed, taking off her uniform. She was just pulling her pants down to slip the dress on when Riley and Madison both gasped.

"_Oh my God_!" Madison suddenly cried.

Sutton jumped, startled. "What?" she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Sutton," Riley spoke up, "What the hell is that on the side of your stomach?"

"What's what?" Sutton asked.

"This!" Madison shrieked, pointing at a long, red gash that extended from the edge of Sutton's stomach and across her hip.

"Where the hell did this scar come from?" Madison demanded in an uncharacteristically harsh tone.

But Sutton only chuckled, to both their surprises. "Relax, guys," she said, "It's nothing."

"That doesn't look like nothing," Riley retorted, "Did you cut yourself on something? What happened?"

"Can you two just drop it, please? We're here to go dress shopping, remember?"

But her two best friends _wouldn't _let it go. They _couldn't _let it go. "You can't just reveal something like this and then not talk about it," Madison replied, "How long have you had this scar?"

Sutton hurriedly dressed in her uniform again. "Two weeks," she answered as she blushed a little bit.

"Two _weeks_?" Madison cried, sharing a glance with Riley, who seemed to be thinking the same thing as her.

"Two weeks," Riley repeated, "Wait a minute…did someone in the _Church _do this to you?"

Sutton's eyes widened as she instinctively clutched her stomach. "No!" she shouted, though her voice was a lot more high-pitched and frantic, "Why would you think something like that?"

"Because you didn't have this scar before you joined the Church," Madison answered, "Sutton, if someone's hurting you in there-"

"They're not!" Sutton vehemently denied.

"We're your _friends_," Riley insisted, "Just tell us. We're not going to be angry. We just need to know."

But Sutton only frowned as she gathered her belongings. "There's nothing to know," she stated, "And I wish you all would stop jumping down my throat about Unitology. First Marcus, and now you two. You all think you're so perfect. Well, you're not. I don't lecture any of you about what you do, so I don't expect you to do the same to me."

"Sutton," Riley sighed.

"No, _Riley_," Sutton snapped in response, "I don't want to hear what you have to say. I've got to go now."

She stormed out of the dressing room, leaving Riley and Madison stunned. All they could do was glance at each other as they tried to process what had just happened.

"Bingo," Riley spoke up, breaking the silence, "That's why she was carrying on just now. She must have had a fight with Marcus before meeting us."

Madison sighed. "And I bet it was about something to do with Unitology," she groaned, feeling as if she were about to cry, "I just don't understand, Riley. What's happening to her? Why didn't she realize we were just worried about her?" She buried her face into her hands as she began to cry a little bit. Riley felt her heart sink as she reached over and hugged Madison.

"I don't know, Maddie," she whispered, "I just don't know."

_What I DO know, _she thought fiercely, _Or at least that I'm sure of, is that the Church is responsible for that scar on Sutton. I'm going to find out what they did to her to give her that mark, and then they're going to answer to me. _

"Maybe…" Madison piped up as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "Maybe…she should talk to someone about this. A therapist or something."

Riley blinked and looked up. "You mean Doctor Graham?" she asked.

Madison shook her head. "Maybe not _your _therapist, exactly, but someone close."

"Sutton's not going to want to go to therapy. If anything, she'll try and make _us _go, even though I'm there already."

"If we get enough people, she might. I'll see what I can do as far as that goes."

Riley nodded. "Good luck. Let me know how that works out."

* * *

_Sutton, _Riley thought as she climbed back onto the tram after her shopping trip with her friends was over, _Sutton. Why the hell did you flip out on us back at the store? Why didn't you want us to help? _

She figured her friend didn't want to have any negative thoughts about the Church, but that didn't change Riley's suspicions that the Church had put that scar on her.

_I suppose the Symposium tonight will reveal all, _she thought as she leaned her head back against her seat.

"_Now approaching Titan Heights Station,_" an automated voice in the tram announced, "_Please remain seated until the tram comes to a complete stop._"

Once Riley disembarked from the tram, she hurried upstairs to her apartment and shut the door, leaning against it as hot tears formed in her eyes. She had not allowed herself to cry before, when Madison had been shedding her own tears, but she saw no need to hide them in her own home.

And so Riley began to cry, slumping down to the ground as she buried her face in her hands, playing the shopping excursion gone wrong over and over again in her mind. Once she found her place on the floor, she decided she never wanted to move again, and she began taking deep breaths. Her sadness was like a heavy weight on her, and she hadn't felt this crippling effect since last year, after…

No. She wouldn't think about that right now.

_Come on, Riley, get up, _she chided herself, _You can do it. So what if Sutton wasn't acting like herself? You're trying to help her. So get up! _

And with that, she slowly picked herself up again while trying to dry her tears. There was no denying that Sutton's increasingly erratic behavior got under her skin, but she wasn't going to get answers by moping around.

Riley glanced at her watch and saw it was 5:00. _I better start getting ready for the Symposium, _she thought, but before she could move, she heard her audio RIG go off.

"Hello?" she asked after hitting the button to take the call.

"_Hey, Riley._"

Riley perked up. "Marcus!" she cried, "Hi! How are you?"

Marcus sighed from his end. "_All right. This hasn't really been my day. How about you?_"

"About the same. So, I wasn't expecting to hear from you. What's going on?"

"_I'm feeling really bad, Riley. Listen…do you have any plans tonight? I really need to talk to you and Madison about Sutton._"

Riley closed her eyes and sighed. "I'll be going out later," she told him, "So I can't meet up tonight. Is tomorrow morning okay?"

"_Yeah, that's fine. Let's meet up for breakfast._"

"Sounds good. I'll call Maddie and see if she can join us. I've gotta say, this whole thing's really been getting to me. Earlier, Sutton got angry with us and stormed out of the store we were in."

There was a pause on the other end. "_Oh, God,_" Marcus groaned, "_I had a fight with her before she met up with you two._"

"I _knew _it! She mentioned your name before. What happened?"

"_Ugh. I don't really want to get into it right now. I'll tell you everything tomorrow, okay_?"

"All right. We'll see you tomorrow! Get some rest tonight, okay? Don't think about it too much." She hung up the audio RIG, breathing a sigh of relief. She hadn't admitted it to anyone else, but for a while, she had wondered if Marcus had anything to do with Sutton's conversion. From the way he sounded over the phone, that seemed highly unlikely.

_Still, I'll wait and see tomorrow morning, _she decided as she began to get ready for the Symposium.

* * *

_**7:00 PM…**_

"Lara?"

Lara glanced up from her paperwork as Franco entered the small office.

"Everyone's here for the Symposium," Franco explained, "And Daina's already down there greeting the guests. She told me to tell you that she wants you to be Ms. Price's chaperone for the night."

Lara leaned back in her seat as she groaned. "You've got to be kidding me," she said. Even though Franco worked closely with Daina, he was a little more easygoing than she was, and Lara felt more comfortable voicing her opinions around him.

"No joke," Franco assured her, "She thinks it would be good for you to bond with Lauren. And she thinks you owe it to her for not properly welcoming her into the Church."

Lara scowled. "I don't want that woman anywhere _near _me," she declared, "I don't like her."

Franco shrugged. "Hey, I don't make the rules. But you can't just ignore Daina's orders. She's your boss. If she says she wants you to keep an eye on Lauren, then you better do it."

Lara looked up and studied Franco's expression. She liked him. She honestly did, but she didn't like Daina and she _certainly _didn't care for Lauren Price.

However, she also acknowledged that Franco was right. This was her job, and she knew better than to say no to her boss.

"All right, I'll do it," she decided.

"That's my girl," Franco said, smiling as Lara walked with him down to the main lobby, where the Symposium was taking place. The decorations hanging on the walls made the spacious room almost unrecognizable, with banners of the Marker covering every column. Tables and chairs were situated everywhere, as was a longer table with hors d'oeuvres, champagne, and wine. Soft, classical music played in the background while the guests milled about, talking to each other and various other Unitologists. _This is the first time they've opened the Symposium to the public, _she thought, walking around and helping herself to a glass of white wine.

Lara had to admit she was surprised at the turnout; there were a lot more people present than she had expected. Not all of them were Unitologists, either.

"Look, honey," one woman was saying to her husband, "See how those wisps from the incense near those stained glass windows rise up to the ceiling?"

"Yeah," the man agreed, wrapping his arm around his wife, "I never realized how beautiful this Church's architecture was. Let's take a look at those altars over there." Before Lara could march over to them, they were already walking away.

_This Church does have its aesthetic value, _she thought viciously as she gripped her glass, _Too bad it's so ugly on the inside. Or so I've heard. _

"Great turnout, huh?"

Lara tensed up and swallowed a little more wine. She knew that voice and turned around in time to see "Lauren" sauntering over to her in a similar green dress from the previous week. She wore a wide smile on her face as she held out her hand.

"_Great turnout _just about sums it up," Lara replied in a cool voice, "I see you accepted my challenge."

"Lauren" nodded. "I just want to learn the basics about Unitology," she explained, "That's it. Nothing too crazy."

Lara finished her glass and set it down. "Well, I'm supposed to show you around, so let's go."

The two of them began to walk around the lobby, and Riley still couldn't believe what she was seeing. This was one of the most formal gatherings she had ever been to, and it showed. She couldn't help but glance around with wide eyes, as if she was still in denial about the fact that she was here. In the Church of Unitology.

She was actually one of them now.

Riley forgot all about the incident with Sutton as she continued to take in the sight around her. There were so many people, and over time, she began to see exactly what the Symposium was. _No blood on the walls? _She thought sarcastically as she continued to look around.

While others munched on hors d'oeuvres, they visited with various Unitologist priests dressed in cloaks, who handed out pamphlets and gave others tours around the area. "Has this event always been open to the public?" she asked.

"No," Lara answered, "This is the first year they're doing this. They want to get more people involved, though why _anyone _would want to join the Church is a mystery to me."

Riley raised an eyebrow. "You're a Unitologist," she pointed out, "And I'm about to become one, too. Why wouldn't you want people joining your own church?"

Lara opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, both women heard someone else calling out to them.

"Oh, there you are, Ms. Price!" Daina cried as she waved at them and approached them, "I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up."

Riley smiled, though it didn't travel up to her eyes. It took her all her self-control not to throttle Daina for what the Church might have done to Sutton. _No, what the Church DID do to Sutton, _she thought angrily. "Don't worry, I'm here," she replied, still smiling, "Great soiree."

"One of our very own priests suggested we open it to the public. I'll have to thank him later. I trust Lara's been showing you around?"

Riley nodded.

"Good. In about an hour, I will be making a speech for all our guests. You will hear how we exchange ideas with one another, just like you read in those books I gave you. You _did _read them, right?"

Riley bit her lip to stop herself from snorting. "Of course," she said, remembering how she had been halfway through reading them after the last week. She still had a little bit left, though.

Daina nodded as well, winked, and then walked away, leaving the remaining two women on their own. Riley narrowed her eyes at her as she watched her leave.

"Come on, let's sit down," Lara suggested, "Before all the good seats are taken."


	5. Chapter 5

All right! Here's the next chapter of "730 Days of Convergence"! Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it! :)

Time for what I like to call the **Guest Review Corner**:

**Guest**- Regarding the repeated _Silent Hill _reviews, it's okay. I know the new review system takes a while to adjust to. I'm still trying to get used to it myself, so don't worry about it. :)

**The Newcomer**- I'm not going to delete Journey into Darkness. I'm going to use it as an original story and go into _Dead Space 3_ while incorporating plot elements from "Journey into Darkness" into the Dead Space 3 story. :)

Oh, by the way, has anyone else noticed that the number of words in stories has gone down? For example, I had over 80,000 words in _Dead Space: Forgotten Memories _and it's now down to around 74,000, even though the whole story is still there, and some of my stories that were over 100,000 words got knocked back down into the 90,000 word range. Does anyone know why fanfiction did that?

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and plot ideas are mine. Everything else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

* * *

For the next hour, Riley and Lara remained at their table, dining on refreshments and sipping glasses of wine, but not speaking to each other. Riley didn't expect Daina's secretary to befriend her, so she devoted her time to looking around again. A few of the priests stood on the stage, preparing for Daina's presentation, and Riley studied Daina herself, who was walking around as she conversed with some of the guests. She had to admit that Daina was a pretty influential person, and she could see why she was one of this Church's leaders.

"Has Daina always been in power like this?" she asked Lara, daring to try and speak to her.

"For the most part," the secretary answered in a clipped voice, "The priests elected her into that position of power. And I got stuck working for her. You can thank my parents for that."

Riley raised an eyebrow. "Unitologists, I presume?"

Lara nodded, but before she could answer, the two women noticed the lights were starting to dim. "Here we go," Lara whispered, "Daina's about to make her presentation."

Riley watched with fascination as a spotlight appeared on the stage, which Daina stepped into as a few screens lowered behind her. She stood at the podium and smiled as her audience clapped while Franco and a few higher-ranking priests also formed a line behind her. She held her hands out in front of her to quiet everyone down, and eventually, silence filled the room. Riley had to admit she was awed by the whole thing. _Daina's got a lot of control over this place, _she thought, resting her chin in her hand.

"Good evening," she began, "And welcome to the Annual Unitology Symposium. It brings such joy to the Church to see so many of you wanting to be involved with us. Before we begin tonight, I'd like to ask one of our newest members to do the honor of leading us in prayer. She joined our ranks a few weeks ago, but she is fast becoming a prominent member of our community. Without further ado, please welcome Miss Sutton Fields."

Riley, who had been drinking a little bit of her white wine, instantly spit it out in shock as everyone clapped around her. _Oh, no, _she thought, _This is not happening! Sutton's here? This has to be a cruel joke. _

But the journalist soon realized this was no joke. She watched as Sutton took tentative steps onto the stage, sporting the sleeveless black dress she had been looking at in the dress store. _That's why she wanted it, _Riley realized, lowering herself in her seat as she reached for a Unitology pamphlet on the table. She opened it and pretended like she was reading it, which caught Lara's attention.

"What's wrong with _you_?" she asked.

Riley ignored her. She was surprised she hadn't seen Sutton walking around in the last hour, and vice versa, but she was relieved. If her friend saw she was here, she'd have to answer for a lot, and she wasn't in the mood to be interrogated. She decided to venture a glance over the top of the pamphlet as Sutton tapped on the microphone.

"_Ahem,_" she started, clearing her throat, "This is a short little prayer I wrote on my own. I hope it does the Church justice." She cleared her throat again and began to speak in a voice that she hoped was confident.

"_Altman,_

_Give us strength to accept ourselves and accept our humanity. _

_Give us strength to abandon petty materialism and embrace the spiritual aspects of our race. _

_And most importantly, give us the strength we need to overcome any obstacles we share to unite as one under your Marker. _

_Altman Be Praised._"

"Altman Be Praised," the Unitologists in the crowd repeated while the non-Unitologists sat in silence before clapping. Sutton breathed a sigh of relief, shook hands with Daina and Franco, and climbed down from the stage to take her seat near the front again.

Riley remained tense as she tried to pretend that had been someone other than Sutton on the stage. She just hoped her friend hadn't secretly spotted her. _She wrote that prayer all by herself? _She thought, _Words can't even begin to describe this._

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Lara watching her intently, but she ignored her while continuing to hold the pamphlet up to her face.

"Thank you very much, Miss Fields," Daina thanked her once the crowd had quieted again, "And now, I'd like to begin my presentation with a short video showing what our religion is all about. Franco?" She nodded at Franco, who proceeded to press a button on a remote, which shut the lights off completely and caused the screens to flare to life. Ambient music played in the background as an image of men and women appeared, making Riley realize this must have been one of Unitology's many commercials. She had seen plenty of them, but never this one before.

It was in that moment that Riley realized the Symposium seemed to be nothing more than one big advertisement for Unitology, and she was almost sorry she had wasted her evening on this event.

"_Have you ever felt like you were meant to be part of something bigger?_" a woman's voice asked, "_Then maybe Unitology is for you._" The picture morphed into an image of what Riley assumed was supposed to be Michael Altman's hands.

"_Founded two hundred years ago by our savior, Michael Altman, Unitologists believe that one day, all mankind will be united through the power of a sacred artifact known as the Marker. We call this process Convergence._" The show transitioned into the iconic spiraling tower that was the Marker. It was all over the banners and pamphlets in the room.

"_Imagine it. All mankind, brought together. With one purpose. With one mind. With one soul. No war, no fear, no hate. If that sounds like an ideal world to you, then look no further._" The presentation, which switched to a view of four people, suddenly made all the non-Unitologists in the room gasp as the humans began to burn away, turning into skulls. Riley remained frozen in her seat, unable to process what she was seeing while the Unitologists looked on in awe.

"_Convergence is coming. And Unitology…is helping it happen._" The skulls on the screen lingered for much longer than Riley had hoped, and she could hear tentative clapping from the audience around her except Lara. She didn't bother to clap, either, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Daina's secretary smirking at her.

"Scared yet?" she asked in a taunting manner.

"No!" Riley snapped, though she felt her cheeks turn red in embarrassment a little bit. Lara only shrugged and focused her attention on her boss again.

"As you can see," Daina piped up, "We take Convergence and the Marker very seriously in this Church. It is important to know that we do not tolerate what EarthGov and all other factions have been doing to our race. They have been promoting materialism, money, and all the other harmful aspects of life and humanity. Here, we embrace spirituality. Simplicity. _Conformity_." She flicked her gaze to Riley as she said this, which did not go unnoticed by the journalist.

"We are one big family here, and everyone is welcome to share his or her thoughts and beliefs. It only serves to better ourselves as people."

Riley bit her tongue to prevent herself from commenting on Daina's speech. She knew she didn't quite agree with everything the Unitologist said, but she did know that there was something unnerving about the way Daina had said _conformity, _and the stare she had given her didn't help matters.

"Now," Daina continued, "Any questions?"

At first, the room was so silent that Riley could have sworn she heard a pin drop, but then, someone in the back finally raised his hand. She nodded at him.

"Umm," the young man stammered, "Why are you guys so obsessed with death? Isn't that…you know…depressing to talk about all the time?"

Riley heard the buzzing of the rest of the crowd as everyone turned to face the man, and the priests suddenly became restless on the stage. Daina remained unfazed, however.

"Young man," she replied, "What's your name?"

"Aaron," the man answered.

"Well, Aaron, do you believe we as humans should be concerned about material possessions? Do you think we should let ourselves be corrupted by what shouldn't be important? Money? Technology?"

Riley frowned, feeling pity for Aaron as he looked thoroughly confused. "I don't understand," he complained.

"Of course you don't," Daina agreed, smiling at him, "You're still young. You haven't been tainted by materialism yet. But the Church can help you stay that way. Don't you agree, Aaron?"

_Ugh, _Riley thought to herself, rolling her eyes, _I can't take this anymore. _"Lara?" she whispered, "Where can I find the ladies' room?"

"That way," Lara answered, pointing to a hallway on the right, "Want me to show you how to get there?"

"No, thanks. I won't be too long." She smiled, got up from her seat, and hurried over to the exit of the room as Daina and Aaron continued to debate about the importance of money and technology. Their voices quieted down the further out she was in the hallway, and she quickly found the restroom.

_What a waste of a night, _she thought, _I'll just take care of my business and then leave. I can't stay here. Not with Sutton in the same room. I should've known she would have been at this event tonight. And that prayer at the beginning… _

After finishing her business, Riley rested her hands on the porcelain sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror as she sighed. Now that the Symposium was open to the public, it appeared to be a much more decadent advertisement for the Church, as well as an opportunity to engage in debates with the leaders of the religion. _Ostentatious, _she thought bitterly, clenching her fist, _For all that talk about doing away with material possessions, the Church sure has no problem making people pay for its literature_.

Sutton didn't belong here. Hell, _Riley _didn't belong here, and she wasn't even an official member yet. The presentation with the burning skulls had proven to be too much even for her, and she wondered if she should end her charade before she went any further into the Church.

_No, _she thought to herself, _I'm not backing down that easily. I just have to come up with a more clever way to get information._

Riley washed her hands and then exited the restroom as she began looking for the nearest exit. She didn't want to have to pass through the Symposium again, but at the moment, it seemed that she didn't have a choice.

While she was on her way, she encountered a statue resembling Michael Altman, and she paused as she took it in. His hands were extended the same way they had been in the video, and his face also had a serious expression on it. Underneath the statue was an inscription written in the Unitology alphabet, and even though she couldn't read it yet, Riley knew it had something to do with Altman. She glanced back up at the face and shook her head.

"Altman," she whispered, "Why the _hell _did you create this religion? What were you thinking making people believe in this Marker? What exactly _is _the Marker, anyway?"

She sighed and looked away for a second. _What am I thinking? _She thought, _I'm talking to a statue. Not like it can talk back to me._

That was when the strangest thing happened.

"_Riley…_" a voice whispered out of nowhere, making Riley perk up as her hairs stood on end. She looked around wildly, but couldn't spot anyone in her vicinity.

"Hello?" she called out, stepping away from the statue to get a better look. However, she didn't find anyone, which made her even more scared than she already was.

_That's impossible, _she thought frantically, _Nobody knows my real name in here. Am I just hearing things? Is someone here? Did someone find out who I really am? What if- _

_Bam! _"Ahh!" Riley gasped as she suddenly felt someone hit her across the back of her head, causing her to fall unconscious as everything faded to black around her.

* * *

It felt like hours before Riley finally regained consciousness. Her head pounded as she covered her eyes and forced them open, taking things slow as she got herself together. All she remembered was someone smacking her and knocking her out, and she deduced that whoever it was must have snuck up on her from behind. She groaned as she struggled to sit up, still feeling disoriented.

"Welcome back, Ms. Price."

Riley sat up completely straight now, fully alert again as she recognized the voice that had greeted her. She turned to the left as Daina stood over her, smirking and making Riley want to wipe that condescending expression off her face.

"D-Daina?" she croaked, "What…what happened? Where am I?"

"You've been asleep for two hours," Daina reported, "The Symposium is over, and Lara left after she saw you weren't returning. You missed the rest of my debate with Aaron and a few others."

"What a pity," Riley mumbled sarcastically, "I mean, yes, it's a shame I couldn't be there to hear what they had to say about our values. I'm sure they'll change their minds in no time." She prayed that Daina didn't hear her first comment.

"I'm not sure, Ms. Price. I _know _they'll change their minds." She reached for a purple and black robe with the Marker etched into the back and tossed it to Riley.

"Change into this, and then meet me in the room just up ahead. It shouldn't take you too long."

"Why?" Riley asked in a suspicious tone.

"Just be patient. The Church will reveal all in due time." And before the journalist could say another word, Daina quickly left the room and shut the door behind her.

Frowning, Riley took the robe in her hands, noting how strange the material felt. She knew the robe was made of fabric, but the part she was touching felt more like rubber than anything else. She searched the inside of the robe until she found a tag on the side.

_This is waterproof, _she realized, _And it's brand new, it seems. But why? Not like there's any rain in space. _She shrugged out of her green dress and slipped the robe on, securing it tightly as she wondered again why she needed it. She was getting bad vibes from it, but since she was pretending to join the Church, she had to go through with it.

Riley cautiously exited the room…only to find Daina gone. _Odd, _she thought. "Daina?" she called out, but she didn't get a response. In fact, there didn't seem to be anyone else in the room.

"Daina?" she repeated, only to receive nothing a second time.

_This is bad, _she thought to herself, _Something's wrong. I need to leave right now. _

Before she could turn and go back to put on her dress, Riley suddenly felt someone grab her from behind. "AHH!" she screamed, throwing herself around to try and get the person to let go of her. Her heart began to pound again as she felt the person grab her by her arms.

"Get off me!" she shouted, "What are you doing? Let me go!"

"Bring her in here!" she heard Daina order from a room just up ahead, and Riley looked over her shoulder to see two priests holding her as they began guiding her towards the next room.

"Let me go!" she shouted, struggling, but one of the robe-clad priests tightened his grip on her arm.

"Hush!" he snapped, and Riley glared at him in return.

After a few more seconds, they arrived in a much more spacious room, with high ceilings, multiple portraits of Altman, and slightly larger Marker models. They all twisted in the same way, with the two prongs at the very top.

However, what stood out the most was the large bath in the middle of the room, which was filled to the brim with water. Riley glanced from that to the group of Unitologists surrounding her, which included Daina.

"Daina?" Riley asked with apprehension, "What's going on?"

Daina smiled and folded her hands together. "Now that you have joined us," she began, "It's time for you to undergo the same initiation the others have gone through before you. Before you can properly join the Church, we must cleanse your soul of any sin and vice. To be a Unitologist means to be pure of heart."

Riley balked, but managed to maintain her composure. She knew she would draw the suspicions of everyone in the room if she resisted whatever was about to happen. "And how exactly are you going to do that?" she questioned.

Daina nodded to the priests holding the young journalist back. "If you will proceed," she said, and all of a sudden, the two of them lifted Riley off the ground.

"Whoa!" she gasped, but she didn't have time to escape, for they suddenly tossed her into the bath, causing her to gasp as she hit the water and sank. She quickly held her breath and heard rumbling in her ears while she tried to make sense of what had just happened. For the first time in a long time, she panicked. She was scared of what might happen to her. The _Sprawl_ had public pools, but she had control then. She never liked situations that were out of her control.

Riley opened her eyes and saw a bright light shining right in her face, and she struggled at first before resurfacing, coughing and shaking her hair out of her eyes. _That's why the robe is waterproof, _she realized, glancing around with a wild expression on her face. Daina said nothing at first, only smiling as she and the priests converged on the bath while they took out hymn books.

"Now it is time to pray to Altman," she announced, "Franco, hold her down."

Riley glanced over at the man, Franco, who approached her and grabbed her shoulders. "No!" she cried, but that was all she could get out, for Franco dunked her head underwater again, moving his hands to her neck so that she couldn't resurface.

Riley attempted to scream, but a muffled, gurgling sound was all she could muster. She peered through the water as she watched Daina's mouth utter words she couldn't hear, and she struggled even more to resurface. She closed her mouth to prevent anymore water from going into her mouth, but she felt a headache take over with the less air she had. _Oh God, _she thought, _I'm about to drown here. Are they going to kill me? _

Before she knew it, Franco was loosening his grip on her neck and bringing her back, and Riley took large gulps of air as she coughed even louder this time. She spit some water out of her mouth and began to shake, glaring over at Daina the whole time. Daina merely looked up from her hymn book and nodded.

"Again," she said, and Franco pushed Riley's head back underwater while the second set of prayers continued. She thrashed and tried to scream once again, but failed for a second time.

Riley beat her fists against Franco's hands, but he didn't move them, causing her to become dizzy once again. Things seemed to turn hazy around her, and she found she was losing her grip on reality the more she was deprived of oxygen. The urge to sleep started to take over, but Riley fought to keep her eyes open. She closed her mouth to hold her breath, but she only felt dizzier.

The white haze was back again, and Riley was on the verge of passing out when something flashed in front of her: a familiar face. All she could see was a set of green eyes just like hers, a pale face, and curly brown hair. He was staring down at her with a reassuring smile on his face, and Riley gasped as she tried to reach out to him.

"Trust me, Riley," he whispered, and with that, he disappeared. _No, _Riley thought to herself, _It couldn't be… _

With a splash, Franco brought Riley's head back to the surface, where she coughed and spit out excess water for the final time. The other priests, who had been chanting while Daina read from the hymn book, stepped back from the bath as Riley sat up, glancing to the left where she thought she had seen the face just now. She felt a chill go down her spine as she extended her hand and reached into thin air.

"Ms. Price?" Daina asked, but Riley ignored her, continuing to stare at the spot in front of her.

"Ms. Price."

Still no answer.

"Lauren."

Riley finally glanced over at Daina and the others, who were watching her intently. Anger coursed through her over what had just happened, and she wasn't interested in hearing what any of the Unitologists in the room had to say.

"It's finished," Daina announced, "The cleansing, that is. You are now as pure as the rest of us."

Riley still didn't say a word, only wearing an expression that didn't betray her emotions. She wondered if they had made Sutton go through this upon first arriving, and in her anger, she climbed out of the bath and faced everyone, clenching her fists.

"Pure?" she echoed, "What's your definition of 'pure', exactly? Because this is not what I had in mind when I wanted to join the Church."

Daina raised a hand to her chin and considered Riley's question. "You don't understand right now," she answered calmly, "But you will. This is standard procedure for all Unitologists who go on to become full members. I went through it. Franco went through it. In fact, all the priests in this room were part of the cleansing. And now you." She began to circle the journalist.

"You see, Ms. Price," she explained, "One must almost reach death to appreciate spirituality more. Once you've come close to it, there's no going back. It makes you think about what is waiting for us on the other side." She then chuckled.

"Of course, we _did _discuss this during the Symposium, but as I recall, you weren't there. If you don't want to be confused, you should sit through the whole debate next time instead of wandering off. It's your responsibility to know all this."

_You bitch, _Riley thought, frowning again. "I need to leave," she declared in a low voice, "So that I can try to understand where you're coming from with all this. I don't know if I'm ready to get this close to Altman yet."

"Oh, go ahead. I know this is a lot to take in at the moment. Come back whenever you feel free to continue."

* * *

_**A few minutes later…**_

"Lauren?"

Riley looked up in surprise when she heard Lara's voice, and sure enough, she was emerging from a side room.

"I thought you left," Riley said sharply, "Daina said you went home after the Symposium."

"Well, I didn't. I was wondering what happened to you. I even went to look for you for a little while." Lara shook her head and studied Riley, who had changed back into her dress from before, even though her hair was still a little wet.

"What did you do?" Lara asked, scoffing, "Fall in the toilet for two hours?"

"I don't have time for this," Riley growled, "I've had enough tonight. I'm going home." She marched past Lara, who watched her leave as she stormed out of the Church, refusing to look behind her.

There were hardly any people on the tram at this hour, so Riley caught the express back to her apartment in Titan Heights, slamming the door shut as she began to shake, as well as experience heart palpitations. As hard as she tried, she couldn't shake the flashbacks she kept experiencing from the soul cleansing ritual. She hurried over to her bathroom cabinet, pulled out a bottle of medication for anxiety, and swallowed one of the tablets inside it, chasing it down with water. Once she finished that, she hurried back into her room and grabbed her audio RIG. She sighed, and then pressed Play.

"_Well…this was definitely an interesting evening for me. I went to the Symposium, as planned, but…but…_" She paused, took a deep breath, and continued.

"_Something happened to me after the Symposium. Something really unexpected. Those Unitologists are even crazier than I thought! They threw me in a bath and tried to drown me! And then Daina tried to play it off as something I needed to experience. Excuse me, but I don't think I need to almost lose my life to grow closer to Altman. And what if I had actually been killed? Then what? Has that happened to any of their other members? I'm sure it has, but this will require some detective work. Not right way, mind you. I need time to process and deal with the soul cleansing I endured tonight. And speaking of that…_" She paused again and then resumed.

"_The strangest thing happened when I was on the brink of death. I saw Peter. Yeah, that's right. Peter. In the flesh. Don't ask me how that's possible, because I don't know, but for a moment, it seemed like…no, just forget it. I'm just rattled from everything that happened tonight. I need to just rest and try to get past this. Good night, and wish me luck._"

Riley stopped the recording and put everything away, checking to make sure her hair was dry before changing and climbing into bed. She was still shaking a little bit, but refused to cry. She'd try and deal with this however she could.

And with that, Riley turned the light off to go to sleep, and just before she closed her eyes, she thought she saw Peter's face flash in front of her again. _Peter, _she thought as she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

_Peter._


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks again to everyone who's been reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and plot idea are mine. Everything else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

* * *

_**The next morning… **_

"Riley," Marcus greeted with a tentative smile as he hugged Riley, "It's good to see you."

Riley smiled sleepily as she and Marcus sat at a small table in a café close to _Titan News_, and she blinked her eyes a few times in an attempt to wake up. She hadn't slept at all the previous night, and she had to force herself to shower after she woke up, since she had almost refused to get in the shower. _Damn it, _she had cursed to herself, _Don't develop aquaphobia._

"You too, Marcus," Riley replied in a scratchy voice, reaching for a pitcher next to her, "Coffee?"

"Sure." Riley poured him a cup before taking one herself, drinking it and trying to wake up again while the two of them flipped through the menu hologram next to them.

"Hey, are you okay?" Marcus asked, studying the dark bags under Riley's eyes, "You look like you haven't slept at all."

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Riley sipped some more coffee.

"Oh yeah, Maddie couldn't make it this morning," she reported, remembering a message on her audio RIG from Madison, "She said she was going to try and find a therapist for Sutton."

At the sound of Sutton's name, Marcus sighed and buried his face in his hands. He was still reeling from the argument of the previous day and couldn't believe he was about to confide in one of her friends.

"Marcus?" Riley pressed, trying to initiate the conversation to get her mind off nearly drowning the other night.

The CEC engineer looked up again. "So I guess you two feel the same way I do," he said, "About Sutton joining the Church of Unitology."

Riley frowned. "You have no idea how worried we are about her," she said, "Her behavior's been so erratic ever since she joined, and yesterday, Madison and I noticed a scar on her that we think was from the Church, and she got really defensive. And now Maddie wants to find a therapist for her. I know we shouldn't hold Sutton back from something she enjoys, but this sudden obsession with the Church is not normal." She held her breath and waited for Marcus to reply.

"Thank God you two understand," he finally sighed with relief, "I was worried you'd support her decision to become a Unitologist, since you're all good friends…"

"Of course we're her friends. That's why we're worried about her, and I know you must be, too."

Before Marcus could say something in return, a waitress stopped by their table to take their orders. "Welcome to Titan Café," she greeted, "What would you guys like this morning?"

The two adults quickly gave their orders.

"Coming right up," the waitress said with a sly smile, "Hey, you two make a cute couple!"

Both Riley and Marcus winced. "We're not together," they replied.

"Oh. What a shame…"

And mumbling to herself, she walked away, causing them to share quiet chuckles with each other. It was at least a nice change of pace from yesterday's tears.

"Sutton would damn her to hell if she heard that," Marcus commented, his smile fading, "And I'm not even trying to be funny."

Riley's concern for her friend returned, and she sat up straight again. "So what happened between you two yesterday? You mentioned you got into a fight with her."

Marcus reluctantly explained the quasi-argument from the previous day, and Riley listened aptly, nodding at the appropriate times.

"And you just left?" Riley questioned, "Like _that_?" She snapped her fingers.

"It's not like I wanted to," Marcus insisted, "I realized I wouldn't be able to change her mind. Besides, I don't think I said anything that bad. You all know how worried I am about my mother. And it's not like I was choosing her over Sutton…" He trailed off there, and Riley raised her eyebrows.

"Maybe that's why she went off on you," Riley deduced, "Maybe she felt like you haven't been giving her enough attention lately. Granted, she had no right to taunt you about your mother, but she could be feeling like you're ignoring her. Hell, maybe that's why she flocked to the Church in the first place."

Marcus's heart sank as the waitress returned with their food, but instead of eating, he just picked at his plate with his fork.

"Suddenly, I don't feel so hungry anymore," he groaned, "Are you implying that I'm the reason she's now obsessed with finding the Marker and Altman?"

"I'm not implying anything," Riley answered, "I'm just trying to make sense of all this myself. I don't even know if I'm right about Sutton's motives. It's just a theory."

"I wouldn't be surprised if your theory turned out to be correct," Marcus sighed, "Most of the time, they do."

"No, they don't-"

"Yeah, they do. Just like I'm sure your theory about EarthGov will be true, too."

Riley narrowed her eyes and cut a piece of bacon for herself. "That has nothing to do with Sutton and the Church," she said.

"But it might after you hear this," Marcus pressed, and he proceeded to tell Riley about his suspicious encounter with Dr. Edgars the previous day, causing her to widen her eyes as she grew more and more shocked with what she was hearing.

"The whole thing was just off," Marcus said, "Sutton even said EarthGov owned that part of the hospital. And the way Patient Five's eye was bleeding…" He shivered.

Riley frowned in thought again. "You think EarthGov is hiding something," she quipped. It wasn't a question.

Marcus nodded and smiled ruefully. "You're not the only one who can come up with theories," he teased, "But in all seriousness, yes, I think they are. I mean, you've been saying that ever since the _Ishimura…_" He sipped some coffee and made a face.

"Anyway, back to Sutton. You said Madison was trying to find a therapist for her?"

Riley nodded as well. "That's right. She thinks that may help explain some of her behavior. I mean, Doctor Graham's been so good to me for the last year, so I don't see why one of her coworkers couldn't help Sutton."

"I don't care how we do it. I just want to get her away from the Church." He took another sip of coffee.

"Somehow," he continued, "I highly doubt Michael Altman was this zealous himself."

Riley shrugged. Having never met the man, she couldn't say for sure. "Well, he _is _credited for being the founder of Unitology two hundred years ago," she reasoned, "Perhaps he didn't expect it to grow this much."

Suddenly, Riley's audio RIG beeped. "Hello?" she asked after pressing the button to take calls.

"_Bennett!_" her boss, Delia, barked from the other end, "_Thank God I caught you. I need you at the office pronto._"

"But today's my day off," Riley reminded her, "I can't-"

"_Now, Bennett!_" Delia hung up. Riley sighed as she glanced back at Marcus.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I've got to go. My boss is expecting me at work. She sounds really stressed out about something."

Marcus nodded. "All right. Good luck with everything. And thank you for speaking with me about Sutton."

* * *

"Good, you're here!" Delia cried as soon as Riley had entered Titan News, hurrying past one of the producers, "Follow me. I called Kincaid in as well. I need both of you right now."

Sure enough, Riley spotted Madison hurrying towards them as Delia ushered both women into her office.

"Riley!" she cried, "You got called in, too?"

"Yeah," Riley responded, "Do you have any idea what this is about?"

Madison shook her head, but Delia shut the door and gestured to two seats across from her desk, which both women took.

"I apologize for sounding rough over the audio RIGs," Delia apologized, "But we were just informed about a breaking news story that will be covered. We're doing a very important live shot at 10:30 this morning, and the reporter who was supposed to cover it, as well as the senior journalist, both called out sick at the last minute. Kincaid, you'll be going on location with one of the camera men, so you'll have to write out what you're going to talk about on air, and Bennett, I need you to write an article on this story. I need this stuff ready in the next hour."

Madison and Riley glanced at each other, and Riley's head felt like it was spinning. She couldn't remember the last time things had been hectic like this, except for when the station had covered the tragedy on the _Ishimura._

"What's the breaking news story?" Madison questioned.

Delia blinked and then chuckled tentatively. "Right. I forgot," she said, "I've been so busy trying to get this whole thing put together for Director Tiedemann that I forgot to tell you what it even was. The _USG Ishimura's _been recovered and is going to be docked here."

"_What?_" both Riley and Madison gasped in unison. Riley felt her stomach drop out from underneath her.

"Well, she was actually recovered a few weeks ago," Delia amended, "From an anonymous tip, EarthGov said. But it took them a long time to transport her back here without inflicting anymore damage on her."

Riley shook her head. "But…but…" she stammered, feeling a sweat break on her forehead.

"What's the matter?" Madison asked.

"From the way we reported the story last year," Riley answered, "It sounded like everything was nuked. The _Ishimura_, Aegis VII, the _O'Bannon_, all that!"

Delia shrugged. "EarthGov thought the _Ishimura _was gone as well," she retorted, "But recent discoveries have shown that to be false. They were hoping to recover at least the planet cracker to give the families of the victims some closure."

Riley's heart sank, but she pushed the depressing sensation away as she nodded at her boss. "If reporting this story is what Director Tiedemann wants," she stated, "Then that's what he'll get."

* * *

_**A few minutes later…**_

"How does this sound?" Madison asked as she and Riley sat in one of the editing rooms together, "_As you can see behind me, the USG Ishimura is currently arriving at the dock just outside of the Government Sector. Officials say it could take up to a maximum of two hours to secure the planet cracker in the dock itself._"

Riley didn't answer, only staring out a window that overlooked most of Titan Station. She drummed her fingers on the desk in front of her and studied Saturn, which was just in her line of sight.

"Riley?" Madison asked.

Riley blinked and looked away from the view outside. "Sorry," she apologized, "That was good."

But Madison knew her friend well enough to know something was bothering her. "About this breaking news story," she started, "Are you okay?"

Tracing her finger along the desk, Riley answered, "I'm fine. I just can't believe they're bringing the _Ishimura _here. I really don't feel like this is going to bring any closure to the victims' families."

Madison frowned in sympathy. "I understand," she said, "But remember: the ship itself was a victim, too. Isabel Cho murdered all those people!"

Riley winced and stood up from the desk. "Include that in your report if you want to," she suggested, and before Madison could say anything, Riley exited the room and returned to her office so she could get started on her last-minute assignment. She pushed aside a pile of papers, where she spotted another brochure with the Marker on it. _Sutton, _she thought, sighing as she face-palmed herself, _She must have stopped by here earlier_.

While she waited for her computer to finish booting up, she ran her fingers through her bangs, sighing as she glanced over at a framed photograph on her desk. Her parents had wide smiles on their faces as they had their arms wrapped around each other, and in front of them was Riley at seventeen years old. Riley smiled as she touched the picture, which then faded as she glanced at the person next to her. The same one she had seen the night before.

"Peter," she whispered, clutching the photo and closing her eyes.

Suddenly, someone knocked on her door, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Come in!" she called out, logging in to her account.

The door slid open, and the person on the other side caught Riley by surprise. He was someone she had seen before, but never directly met until now. He was tall, bald except for a mustache and short beard, and wore a khaki uniform with multiple badges on it. Even though she reported to Delia West, this was the person _Delia_ reported to, as well as the rest of Titan News.

"Oh!" Riley cried, "Director Tiedemann, good morning!" _What the hell is he doing here? _She thought to herself, _He never stops by the headquarters unless it's something really important_.

Hans Tiedemann just nodded, raising one of his hands up. "Good morning," he greeted in a somewhat cool tone of voice, "I just happened to be in the office and I wanted to check on all of Ms. West's employees. You _do _work for her, correct?"

"Yes, sir," Riley answered, standing up to shake his hand, "My name is Riley Bennett. I'm one of Ms. West's journalists."

"I figured as much. She informed me that you would be helping to cover the breaking news story I told her about."

"The _Ishimura's _recovery, right?"

"Right. And how will you be contributing to this, Miss Bennett?"

Riley sat down once again as she opened up a blank document, along with a package Delia had sent to her RIG containing all the information on the story, plus periodic updates. "Well," she started in a neutral voice as Tiedemann pulled up a chair and sat down next to her, "She wants me to write an article for the _Titan Times._ About the _Ishimura's _recovery and detailing the terrorist attacks on that ship, Aegis VII, and the _O'Bannon._ About Isabel Cho." The words sounded hollow to her, almost as if she didn't believe them, and she cleared her throat to try and put some life back into her voice. She began to type as Tiedemann looked over her shoulder the entire time, making her wonder why he was watching her so intently. She knew he owned _Titan News _and the accompanying newspaper, the _Titan Times_, but she still developed a disconcerting feeling in her gut.

"And that's pretty much my end of it," she concluded, "Ms. West is taking care of the rest of it."

"Yes," Tiedemann said, nodding, "I have made my rounds with everyone else and everything is going as planned. You're my last stop before I return to the control room."

Riley nodded and tried to smile when in reality, she was hoping Tiedemann would leave so that she could work in peace. She was never a fan of anyone breathing down her neck while she was in the middle of an assignment.

"So far, your work is good," he complimented, "But if I may, I'd like to give you some advice while you're putting this article together." He leaned forward in his seat and pointed at the screen.

"I see you wrote Isabel Cho was _accused _of being behind the terrorist attacks. She was not accused. She confessed to everything. You know that, Miss Bennett."

Riley fought the spark of annoyance that was threatening to show itself on her face, and she smiled again as she laughed. "You're right, Director Tiedemann," she responded, pretending to agree with him, "As a journalist, I always believe in giving people cold, hard facts. I'll change it right now." She deleted _accused _and wrote _confessed _instead.

"Better," Tiedemann commented, "I just want the people on this station to see that _Titan News _is consistent with what it's reporting. We don't want anyone questioning the accuracy of our stories. Understand?"

Riley tilted her head to the side as she considered what the Director was telling her. She couldn't help but smirk as she thought about him and the rest of EarthGov. _All of you can go to hell, _she thought viciously, but instead, she grinned.

"Duly noted, sir."

"Excellent. Ms. West spoke very highly of you earlier, and I can see why. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Bennett, and I hope we can speak again soon." He shook her hand, got up from his chair, and smiled, sweeping his gaze across her desk.

"Is that a Unitology brochure I see?" he questioned, suddenly pointing at the image of the Marker on the brochure.

Riley picked it up in her hands and studied it. "Oh, this thing?" she asked, "One of the Unitologists must have been passing them around and left one for me." _That's for sure, _she added as a silent afterthought.

Tiedemann nodded and chuckled. "As long as you're not getting involved with them," he said, "They don't seem to know how to keep quiet, even with the laws I keep passing. I may have to start throwing some of them in jail."

"Jail?" Riley echoed, "It's that serious?"

"Yes. Many of them preach in the streets without proper permits. That's against the law. But you don't need to worry about that. You seem like a smart, young woman who wouldn't be brainwashed by their cult."

_Oh, you have no idea, Tiedemann, _Riley thought, shaking her head to get rid of the previous night's flashbacks in her mind. "Thank you," she thanked him, and with another wink, Director Tiedemann turned and left the room. Once the door slid shut behind him, Riley breathed a sigh of relief. Now that he was gone, she could reflect on her conversation with him, which had sent up a lot of red flags. She turned back to her article, watching as the I-beam flashed closest to where he had forced her to reword some of her story. She clicked on the place she had left off and continued to type a little more aggressively than before. Although she would never admit it to anyone, least of all Hans Tiedemann, the fact that she had written _accused _instead of _confessed _hadn't been a mistake.

Unlike her friends, coworkers, and parents, Riley was _not _convinced that Isabel Cho had confessed to murdering all those people. Even watching the reports last week, she had hypothesized that EarthGov had tortured a confession out of her, and she still believed that. She turned on her video RIG to study the information Delia had given her, and she stumbled upon a video of Cho holding a Pulse Rifle and firing an infinite round of bullets. Just like the reports from the previous week, Cho's face was blank, and there was a small red dot in the middle of her head, between her eyes. Riley wasn't sure what it was, but something didn't sit right with her about this video. It all seemed phony to her, which only took her back to her and Marcus's conversation earlier. If she and Sutton's boyfriend were correct in their assumptions, she might have just pinpointed her reason for hating EarthGov.

As she continued with her article, Riley's eyes welled up with tears, which she fisted away quickly. She had helped cover some pretty tragic stories in the past, but this one was very close to her heart. _I was able to deal with it last year, _she thought, _So why am I all of a sudden feeling this way again? Sutton helped me get back on track. _

The Church. Riley wondered if last night's ritual had somehow helped to open up a whole can of worms. Between nearly drowning, seeing Peter, and arguing with Sutton, Riley felt like she was unraveling. And this was only one week after she had started her latest mission in the Church.

"_Bennett!_" Delia shouted through her audio RIG, "_Is that article almost finished?_"

"Yeah," Riley confirmed, "I'll send it your way within the next five minutes."

"_All right, good. Because Director Tiedemann wants this story to run smoothly._"

"So I've been informed," Riley muttered, hanging up so that she could finish her work.

* * *

_**One hour later…**_

"This is it," Delia stated as she stood behind some of the producers in the control room. Riley took a seat next to her and watched the clock count down until it was time to run the live shot. Right now, they had twenty seconds.

"How's your mission going, by the way?" Delia whispered, facing Riley while they continued to wait, "You haven't really discussed it since you started."

_Does she have to bring that up now? _Riley thought to herself.

"It's…going," the journalist retorted, refusing to discuss the ritual, "You know, I'm trying not to lose my mind and all that."

"You know they'll try and find ways to convert you. Just don't fall victim to them."

"I don't plan on it," Riley assured her with a smile, but inside, she felt uncertain about her future in the Church.

"Okay!" one of the producers shouted into the microphone, "We're on in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…Madison, stand by! Brian, stand by. Rolling the opening breaking news headline. And…cue!"

"_Good morning, Titan Station,_" the morning anchor, Brian King, "_It's 10:30 AM, and I'm Brian King here with your latest updates. In the breaking news headlines this morning, the planet cracker starship attacked by a band of terrorists last year, the USG Ishimura, has been recovered and is currently on its way to the docking station by the Government Sector. Reporter Madison Kincaid is in the area with more information for us at this moment. Madison, what can you tell us about this new discovery?" _

"Cue," the producer commanded, and Riley and Delia watched as the screen switched over to Madison. The door to the control room opened, and Riley glanced over her shoulder as Tiedemann entered the room and sat down next to them. He locked eyes with Riley and nodded at her.

"_Good morning, Brian,_" Madison greeted on cue, "_Good morning, everyone. As you can see behind me, the USG Ishimura is currently arriving at the dock just outside of the Government Sector. Officials say it could take up to a maximum of two hours to secure the planet cracker in the dock itself._" Everyone in the control room caught a glimpse of the _Ishimura _in the background, although there were various holes and tears throughout her hull. Riley clenched her fist and held her breath, trying not to cry again. She refused to cry.

"_Last year, the USG Ishimura was one of three sites attacked by a group of terrorists led by Doctor Isabel Cho, who just recently confessed to being the master mind behind the attacks and is currently awaiting her trial. The Ishimura was in the middle of a routine planet cracking mission on Aegis VII when the tragedy occurred. A nearby ship, the USG O'Bannon, was also attacked, with no survivors in any of these three locations. Brian, back to you._"

"_All right, Madison, thank you very much,_" Brian replied, "_Now an even bigger mystery is what the government has in mind for it now that it's back. Has there been any word from officials regarding this question?_"

"_Well, Brian, we've just gotten word that EarthGov is planning to restore the Ishimura back to its former glory. What else EarthGov plans to do with her is unknown at this time, but for now, all the damage that's been inflicted on her will be repaired. Brian, back to you._"

"_All right, thanks, Madison. And stay tuned for more updates on this breaking news story._"

"And we're finished!" the producer announced, pressing a few buttons to switch back over to the normal news, "Good job, you two."

"_Thanks,_" Madison thanked him.

"You can go home, Madison," Delia told her, "You did a good job."

"Yes, excellent work, Miss Kincaid," Tiedemann spoke up in agreement, "And you as well, Mr. King." They both thanked him as well, and he nodded as he patted Riley's shoulder.

"Now _they _know how to deliver a story," he said to her, "You'd do well to take notes from them."

Riley wanted nothing more than to punch Tiedemann right across the face, but instead, she smiled and nodded until she thought her mouth would ache.

"Duly noted, sir," she repeated from before.

* * *

"So the _Ishimura's _been recovered, huh?" Riley's mother, Fiona, asked after she and Ed put the _Titan Times _down, which was running their daughter's article on the first few pages. The two of them were visiting Riley in her apartment at the moment to discuss this breaking news story with her.

"I know, I couldn't believe it, either," Riley told them as she continued to fix a quick dinner for them, "What do you guys think?"

Ed sighed and closed his eyes as he rubbed his temples. "I think…they should have left things as they were. Just when your mother and I finished healing…" He took a deep breath, and Riley and Fiona went over to him and hugged him.

"I just miss Peter so much," Ed whispered.

"We all do, honey," Fiona assured him while Riley just glanced down at the ground, "We all miss him."

Riley couldn't help but feel guilty about what she was doing when her parents weren't around. If they knew they had almost lost her the night before…she shook her head. She didn't even want to _think_ about how much it would hurt them.

"We love you, Riley," Ed whispered as he hugged his daughter next, "No matter what happens, we love you."

Riley hugged her parents in return, tightening her grip as she replied, "I love you, too."

Fiona wiped her eyes and smiled sadly as she sat down. "So, Riley," she said as Riley hurried into the kitchen to get plates, napkins, cups, and utensils for the three of them, "What have you been up to these days?"

_I've been initiated into the Church of Unitology, and I'm currently trying to find out why Sutton's losing her mind and how I can get her out of there without losing sight of myself, _she thought, _I nearly drowned the night before trying to find answers. Oh, and I thought I saw Peter, too, as well as possibly realized why I despise EarthGov. _

"Fine," she lied, wincing as the guilt returned, "Work's been killing me, though. Things are getting pretty demanding around the office. I met Director Tiedemann today, too."

"You did?" Ed gasped, "What was he like?"

"Interesting," was all Riley said as she began dishing food out into different bowls.

Fiona chuckled tentatively. "With you, that could go either way," she commented, "Did you like him?"

Riley shrugged noncommittally. "He was all right. I mean, he seemed decent enough, but…" She trailed off there.

"But what?" Ed pressed.

Before Riley could answer, they all suddenly heard her RIG beep in her room. "Sounds like you have a message," Fiona pointed out.

Riley sighed and stood up. "I'll be right back." She bolted into her bedroom and checked her RIG, which informed her about a few new messages in her email account. She quickly pulled up a hologram that gave her remote access to her computer, so that she could check her emails that way. The messages were from various people around the _Sprawl_, and they often left comments about the articles she wrote, since her email address was always at the end of each one she published. _Good thing I made a separate one for my Unitology identity, _she thought, quickly scrolling through the emails that all had the same, incredulous reaction to the _Ishimura's _recovery. "I couldn't agree more with all of you," she mumbled as she clicked through each one, quickly reading them and deciding she would answer them later.

That was when she stumbled upon a message that made her freeze.

"_Riley,_" it began, "_If this is the only way I can reach someone from that news station, then so be it. I'll get to the others later. Retract your article from today's paper or I'll expose you and your station for the liars that you are."_


	7. Chapter 7

Righto! Here we go with the next chapter! Thanks again for the continued support from everyone! :)

**Guest Review Corner:**

**Mr. Anonymous- **That's right. Let's see what Riley's gonna do about this little problem. As for "The Last Charge", I've gone to a few of my friends, but sometimes, I also replay games to try and get inspiration again, so I think that's what I'm gonna do with _Jak X_ if I have time.

**The Newcomer- **I think the Unitologists would freak if they knew the truth. They already don't like EarthGov, so I can't imagine what would happen if they ever found out what really happened to Altman. Let's see how Riley handles this mysterious messenger. ;)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and plot ideas are mine. Everything else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

* * *

"Are you sure you can't trace the email?" Fiona asked worriedly after some officers from the _Sprawl's _police force arrived at Riley's apartment fifteen minutes later.

Shortly after checking her inbox, Riley had called the police, her heart hammering as she read the threatening message over and over again. She had received some negative comments in the past, but never anything to this degree. While she waited for a squadron of officers to arrive, she had attempted to respond to the anonymous sender, only to have her outgoing message bounce back.

"We're trying," one of them answered, "But whoever sent this has access to some impressive technology. Not only did he or she delete the original account, but they've also somehow managed to block the device it was sent from. We can't seem to get any sort of lead on where this might have come from."

"So there's nothing you can do?" Riley asked.

"At the moment, I'm afraid not. The most we can do is take a copy of the message and keep it on record. If we can recover the deleted account, that may give us some leads." He hit the Print button on the screen, and Riley watched as one copy of the email emerged from the printer.

"If I may," Riley spoke up, "I'd like to keep a copy of this as well. For my own records."

The officer reluctantly hit the Print button again and made a copy for the journalist, which she silently accepted with a nod. "We'll keep in contact with you throughout this investigation," he assured her, and soon, the squadron exited the apartment. As soon as they were gone, Riley swallowed the lump threatening to form in her throat as she reread the email for what felt like the umpteenth time. Her hands began to shake as she finally felt apprehension settle in.

"You okay?" Ed questioned, patting her on the shoulder.

"I'm fine," Riley answered, brushing her bangs out of her eyes, "I'm more confused than anything, though. There's a lot that doesn't make sense right now. Like why someone would threaten me like this."

"Whoever did this is obviously deranged," Fiona advised, "Don't worry about it tonight, though. You've had a long day today and you need to get some rest. They'll catch the perpetrator soon."

"If I don't find him or her first," Ed growled, balling his hands into fists, "How dare he or she threaten our daughter, and then have the _nerve_ to delete the account? The coward's just afraid to get caught."

"They're crazy, not stupid," Riley said, "Whoever it is obviously didn't want to be caught. Still, I just don't understand…"

"Like I said," Fiona spoke up, "Don't worry about it right now. Just get some rest and try to calm down. You're going to exhaust yourself even more than you already have."

* * *

As the days went by, however, Riley _couldn't _stop worrying about it. Every day, she studied that note, wondering who could have sent it and why he or she had specifically targeted her instead of Delia or even Tiedemann.

_If this is the only way I can reach someone from that news station, then so be it, _the message had read.

_Whoever this is must not have access to a television, _she thought one day as she sat at her desk, _Only a newspaper, where they would have seen my article, and my email address along with it. _

For the time being, Riley had removed her contact information after all her articles to prevent anyone else from threatening her, although she had decided to herself that it wouldn't be permanent. She refused to allow this mystery person to scare her.

"I don't think we should bother her right now," Riley suddenly heard Madison speak up from the hallway.

"After what happened a few days ago, she needs our support," Sutton's voice followed as they got closer. Riley looked up from her computer as her two best friends entered the office.

"There's our girl!" Sutton cried as she wrapped her arm around Riley's shoulder, "How are you today?"

Riley shrugged and raised an eyebrow. "My usual peachy keen self," she joked, "It seems like Delia's been assigning me more and more work these days."

"I guess she's trying to take your mind off the psycho who threatened you," Madison guessed, "Any leads on that yet?"

"Nothing so far. And you guys don't have to worry about me. Really."

"I don't know how you're handling this so well right now," Sutton mused, "You're not scared that whoever this is might go after you?"

"I never said I wasn't scared," Riley insisted, "I'd be lying if I said that. I'm just trying to handle this in a professional manner."

"Which is why after you and Maddie get out of work, we're going to the new Titan Resort in the Concourse! On me, of course. That's the perfect place to wind down and let go of all your troubles. You need to relax and _not _let this creep get to you. This person clearly wants you to be afraid. I say screw him. Or her."

Riley looked up in surprise. What her friend had just said sounded more like the pre-Unitology Sutton, something she hadn't heard in a long time, as well as something she had begun to miss.

And she _had_ promised herself she wouldn't let this message intimidate her.

"You've got a point," she conceded, "Let's do it."

* * *

_**Later on that day…**_

"Cannonball!" someone shouted, plunging into the pool right in front of the three women.

"By Altman," Sutton mumbled under her breath, "That guy's lucky he didn't splash us."

"Tell me about it," Riley agreed, chuckling a little bit, "I'm not looking to get soaked today."

Sutton glanced over at her and smiled. "See?" she asked, "Now aren't you glad you're not worrying about everything? Isn't it nice to just relax and enjoy yourself?"

Riley crossed her legs. "Yeah," she said truthfully, "It is, actually. Thanks, Sutton."

She looked around at the Titan Resort, which was created to resemble a beach on planet Earth, with holograms of sand, palm trees, and blue skies with clouds in them. Riley often wondered what it would be like to actually step foot on a planet, but she knew going to Earth was just about as likely as finding out who had threatened her.

"Well, you know what the Church says," Sutton said, flipping over onto her stomach, "If your spirit's relaxed, then life will offer you many rewards."

"The Church said that?" Madison piped up from the other side of Sutton.

"Uh huh," Sutton answered, "They give some pretty good relaxation tips. I meditate every morning now because of them. It really clears the mind and makes you think."

Riley sat up a little straighter in her seat as she glanced over at her friend, Tiedemann's words from a few days ago echoing in her mind.

"Sometimes, it's a little uncomfortable, because they fold their bodies to look like the Marker," Sutton continued, "But after a while, you get used to it. I could show you two now if you want."

"Sutton?" Riley interjected.

Sutton glanced up and raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe doing that in public isn't such a good idea," Riley quipped, "I mean, aren't you worried someone's going to harass you for it? Or worse?"

"What could be worse than being harassed in the streets?" Sutton chuckled.

"What about facing jail time? What if you were arrested?"

"Relax, Riley. That's not going to happen. You and Maddie won't have to bail me out of jail."

"Hopefully," Madison commented, "I've heard about that EarthGov prison. I'd hate for any of us to end up in there."

Riley adjusted her bathing suit strap as she reclined in her chair again. Fortunately, she didn't know anyone who had been detained in the prison, but she knew that the jail was reserved for people who strongly disagreed with the government. She didn't know if there were any Unitologists in there, but she wouldn't be surprised if there were.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head as she sat up again. _Wait, _she thought,_ Isabel Cho might be in there, too._ _I wonder…_

"Well, I think I'm gonna go take a dip in the pool," Madison decided, standing up, "Do you guys wanna come?"

"I'm in," Sutton decided, following her, "Are you coming, Riley?"

Riley's heart began to beat faster at the thought of diving in the pool. She was surprised Sutton wasn't aquaphobic like she was now, but she just shook her head and smiled all the same. "Nah, you two go ahead," she declined, "I'm just going to hang out here and clear my mind."

"Are you sure?" Madison asked.

"Positive. Go ahead, have fun." She watched Madison and Sutton head for the pool, and then she began to look around at all the different civilians. There were families with children, teenagers, couples, and even some elderly people as well. _Any one of these people here could have sent me that email, _she thought, narrowing her eyes, _But which one? _

Although everyone who knew her _and _was aware of her current situation had immediately dismissed the message as being from someone who wasn't sound-minded, Riley couldn't help but wonder if this person was really as crazy as everyone thought.

_Retract your article from today's paper or I'll expose you and your station for the liars that you are. _

Riley reflected on the fact that it had been a few days already, and the perpetrator hadn't followed through with his or her threat. Either they had just wanted to scare her off from her job, or they were waiting for her next move before taking action.

_And the most important piece of the puzzle, _she thought, _They appear to have some sort of dirt on EarthGov. Of course, they could be bluffing and just looking to pull a prank on me, but the fact that they messaged me right after this story went public is way too convenient. Granted, Marcus and I think they're trying to cover up for something, but it seems like this person knows that a completely different event might have happened on the Ishimura, and not the terrorist attack we've been covering. _

_ And now he or she is blackmailing me about it, and EarthGov is trying to catch the person, but can't get any leads. Or so they say. _

Somewhere above her, a fan turned on, and Riley felt a slight breeze on her skin as she got up to stretch her legs, being careful not to get wet. She stretched her arms over her head in an attempt to relax the muscles there. She glanced over to her right and gasped at what she saw, other than the fact that there were other Unitologists strolling around.

"Daina?" she spat.

Sure enough, it was Daina, who was walking around with a marker in her hands. She looked up and widened her eyes in surprise. "Why, Ms. Price!" she exclaimed, "Fancy running into you here. Enjoying your afternoon, I see?"

"Sure am," Riley answered, "Now that my soul's been cleansed and all. I think that's a reason to celebrate, don't you? You know, not dying and all?"

"You know we wouldn't have let you move on that quickly," Daina replied, "That's your problem, Ms. Price. You have no faith in us or what we do in the Church. In fact, you seem to have no faith in anything."

Riley scoffed. "_I _have no faith?" she echoed, "I didn't even know you were going to try and cleanse my soul!"

"I suppose we should have informed you in advance that we were going to do that, but then you would have resisted. I've told you in the past that once you become one of us, there's no going back. I bet you've been thinking about Unitology more these days, right?"

Riley knew she was right, but she would never tell her that. The look on her face must have said it all.

"That's what I thought," Daina said with a smirk, "So, when can we expect you back at the Church?"

"How about when _I'm _ready to return?" Riley asked.

"And when will that be? Once you've reached death? Once the rest of the citizens of Titan Station stop believing EarthGov's lies?"

Riley sat up straight again. "What did you just say?" she demanded.

But Daina wouldn't volunteer anymore information. "See you soon, Ms. Price," was all she said before smiling, waving, and walking away. As soon as she was gone, Riley collapsed back in her chair, her heart racing as she thought about what Daina had said.

"EarthGov's lies," she whispered to herself, wondering if Daina had possibly been the one…

"Why were you talking to Daina Le Guin?"

Riley looked up as Sutton approached her and reached for her towel.

"Is that who that was?" Riley asked, pretending not to know.

Sutton raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. She's a prominent Unitologist on Titan Station. Do you know her or something? You two looked very into your conversation just now."

"No," Riley lied, "She just came up to me and started talking about Unitology. I think she was trying to recruit me."

Sutton shrugged. "Well, she definitely has a lot to offer as far as Unitology goes. I think you should give her a chance. She may seem forceful now, but once you get to know her, she's really nice."

Riley bit her lower lip as she tried not to laugh. "Yeah, I bet," she muttered sarcastically as she watched her friend dry herself off so that she could go get a drink. _That was a close one, though, _she thought, wiping her forehead as she breathed a sigh of relief that Sutton hadn't caught on to just how well she and Daina knew each other.

* * *

"Franco?"

Franco looked up from some paper work as Lara poked her head into the doorway leading to his office.

"Hey, Lara," Franco greeted, "What's going on?"

"Have you seen Daina? There's something I need to ask her."

Franco put his pen down. "Last time I heard from her, she was over at the Titan Resort in the Concourse. I think she's trying to spread the word that EarthGov is full of liars."

"About what?" Lara inquired.

"The arrival of Convergence. They keep saying it's not a real event, but they're wrong."

"Oh," Daina's secretary sighed, dropping her hands at her side, "I guess I'll leave a note for her so that she sees it when she comes back."

"That's a good idea," Franco agreed, "And listen, Lara: don't worry about Daina entering EarthGov territory. She knows how to be subtle with spreading our message."

Lara brushed her hair out of her eyes and nodded, despite the fact that what Daina did was not important to her. She returned to the hallway, passing by a few of the priests on the way to her boss's office. While she continued to walk, she turned her thoughts back to Lauren Price's disheveled state after the Symposium a few nights ago. Although she thought Lauren was a foolish woman, she couldn't help but be concerned all the same. The way Lauren had carried herself-like a frightened, cornered animal-had seemed very out of character for her.

Lara finally reached Daina's office, entering the code to go inside, and after looking around for a brief second, she stepped closer to her boss's desk. _You know what, Lara? _She told herself, _Skip leaving a note for Daina. Look around the office for your answers instead. _

She remembered the way Lauren's hair looked like it had been soaked. Had she gone for a swim somewhere in the Church? "Impossible," she whispered to herself, "I wonder if I can look in Daina's drawers…"

Lara knelt down by the drawer closest to her, and she pulled it open, ruffling through various papers and files to find what she was looking for. Anything to do with Lauren-or any full member of the Church, for that matter-would suffice.

Lara closed that drawer and opened another one, casting aside more papers until she finally stumbled upon a folder labeled, "_Soul Cleansing Ritual._"

"Soul cleansing?" she whispered to herself, but before she could investigate the folder, the RIG on Daina's desk began to beep. Lara tossed everything aside and hurriedly stuck an earpiece in her right ear.

"Daina Le Guin's office," she greeted, "Lara speaking."

"_Good afternoon,_" Director Tiedemann replied from his end, "_Is Ms. Le Guin available?_"

Lara hurried to sit down at the desk as she closed all the drawers. "She's not here right now," she reported, "May I take a message?"

"_Yes. Tell her that Director Tiedemann called in regards to a recent incident concerning the defamation of a few EarthGov posters near Titan Resort. Civilians there spotted a few of her Unitologists walking around and reported the situation to my police force._"

"And I bet Daina herself made sure she was hidden while her comrades took the fall," Lara muttered with a hint of resentment in her voice. She quickly scribbled Tiedemann's message before adjusting the audio RIG again.

"Anything else I need to tell her?" she asked.

"_Yes,_" Tiedemann said, "_Tell her that if I catch her or her people committing another defamation crime, they will all be arrested without warning. She has my number to call me back if she needs to._"

"Oh, I doubt she'll do that," Lara quipped before she could stop herself. _Oops, _she thought as she covered her mouth.

But Tiedemann only chuckled. "_What's your last name?_" he asked, "_Just so that I can have who I spoke to on record._"

"Turner," she answered, "Lara Turner. I'm Ms. Le Guin's secretary."

"_Turner. You aren't related to George Turner by any chance, are you?_"

Lara winced. "Yes. I'm his daughter."

There was a pause before Tiedemann replied, "_I thought that name sounded familiar. And what about you? Are you a hardcore Unitologist like your father?_"

_What? _Lara thought as she balked. "With all due respect, sir," she retorted, "I don't see what this has to do with you leaving a message for Ms. Le Guin."

"_I was just trying to get some information on Ms. Le Guin's employees. If you ever need anything, you can reach me at this number. Or you can call my secretary and she'll patch you through._"

After speaking with Tiedemann for a few minutes (and jotting down his and the secretary's numbers), Lara hung up the audio RIG, sighing as she glanced down at Daina's desk. Unless she was mistaken, it seemed as if Tiedemann was trying to get any information on the Church through her. _He must somehow suspect that I'm not a true Unitologist, _she thought, _Nor will I ever be._

Lara reached for the Soul Cleansing Ritual Folder again and tucked it underneath her sweater, heading towards the hallway again so that she could find the copy room. She was so lost in thought about the contents of the folder that she wasn't looking where she was going.

"Oof!" a voice groaned as she collided into someone, and Lara looked up and widened her eyes.

"Dad!" she gasped, smoothing out her sweater.

"Hi, Lara," her father greeted, "I just thought I'd drop by and see the Church for a little bit. How's everything going here?"

_Speak of the Devil, _Lara thought as she put on her best smile. "Fine," she replied, "Just answering Daina's RIG for her and taking messages. Things are pretty quiet around here."

"I'll say. I also wanted to stop by and leave my latest payment for Daina. Five thousand credits. I would have done it electronically, but I'm afraid the government's going to start taking the Church's money over the computer." Lara frowned and narrowed her eyes.

"Dad?" she asked, "Don't get upset, but…are you sure you want to keep investing so much in Unitology? I mean, it seems like they're sucking all our money out of our accounts and that we're just barely making ends meet. I can only imagine the same thing has happened to other families."

George sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Well, Lara, that's why I pulled some strings to get you this job here," he explained, "And Daina pays you well, doesn't she?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"So there's nothing to worry about." He looked down at his daughter as she stared at the ground.

"Look," he continued, "Things are going great for us here. Daina's been helping me and your mother find the path to Altman and Convergence, and we've learned so much about the Church and that it's not the horrible cult EarthGov makes it out to be. Everything's perfect. Don't ruin this for us, okay?"

Lara looked up again, her face showing her anger and hurt at her father's words. The idea that it seemed like he was choosing Unitology over his own daughter shocked her. _Don't ruin this for them? _She thought incredulously, _I'm the only sane one in the Turner household! _"Okay," she sighed, "Just give me the check and I'll drop it off at Daina's desk."

George smiled, pulled the check out, and handed it to Lara. "I knew you'd see reason," he said, patting her shoulder, "I'll see you in a little while, okay?" He kissed her forehead, winked, and strolled down the hallway, and as soon as he was out of her line of sight, Lara hurried to the copy room so that she could duplicate the contents of the folder for herself. As soon as she got there and began running the various papers through the copy machine, she stared at the check, her hands shaking in anger as her father's words replayed themselves over and over again in her mind.

It had only been about a year since George and Marilyn Turner first joined the Church, and ever since then, it seemed like the amounts they were paying to Daina had increased from one hundred credits to the five thousand credits in her hands at this very moment, due to moving higher up in the ranks. Lara didn't want to think about how long her parents had been saving up this much money, but she knew it would take even longer to acquire after this.

After what George had said to her, Lara didn't want this much money to just go into Daina's hands. _No, _she thought, _This is wrong. I can't not give this to Daina. This check is made out to her. That would be stealing from her. _

However, the longer she thought about it, the more she felt like Daina didn't deserve this. This five thousand credit check was her _parents'_ money. And even though she knew it was wrong, she wanted them to come back to reality. _I'm gonna put this check towards something far more useful, _she decided to herself, _I don't know what yet, but I am. The Church won't be getting a single credit more out of my family. Not if I can help it. _

* * *

"_So someone else thinks EarthGov is hiding something, huh?_" Marcus asked as he and Riley talked over RIGs.

Riley stretched back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. "From the tone of the message, it seems like it," she said, "But I can't seem to figure out who it might be. In all honesty, I think it's someone from the Church." _I just hope nobody figured out I've been lying to them so far, _she thought.

"_That could be the case. I mean, I heard about them going around and ruining the EarthGov posters earlier._"

"Yeah. Sutton, Maddie, and I saw them at the resort. It seems like the more EarthGov tries to crack down on them, the more persistent they are. Clearly, they refuse to be stopped."

Marcus snorted. "_I'll say. I just hope Sutton doesn't end up like that._"

"I'm sure she won't," Riley assured him, "Talk to you tomorrow." With that, she hung up her RIG just as the one for "Lauren Price" began to beep from somewhere inside her closet.

"_You have one new message,_" it announced, "_Accessing message._" It beeped again.

"_Lauren, it's Lara,_" Lara Turner's voice poured out from the speakers, much to Riley's surprise, "_Listen. I know you and I don't exactly see eye to eye, but I really need to talk to you. I don't know when you'll be back at the Church, but if you're free before then, maybe we can meet up. Like I said, I really need to talk to you. Here's my number. I hope we can speak soon. I promise I won't be a bitch._" She rattled off her number, and then the message ended.

Riley frowned at the urgency in Lara's voice, and the wheels began turning in her head as she thought about everything that had happened over the last week or so. While one part of her was tempted to ignore Daina's secretary, the other was curious as to what made her want to contact Riley in the first place. Perhaps their rendezvous would answer some questions that were brewing in her head.

And maybe-_maybe_-she could find out why Sutton was insisting on spreading their word, despite her warnings from earlier.

"Well, you're in luck, Lara," Riley said out loud as she scoffed to herself, "I'm coming back to the Church."


	8. Chapter 8

All right! I'm _finally _back with another update to this story! I'm sorry for the long gap, but school's started back up again, so I won't have as much time to update like I did in the summer. Thanks again to everyone who's been reading and reviewing! :)

**Guest Review Corner:**

**Mr. Anonymous- **Oh yeah. The real Convergence should be here closer to when this story ends. ;)

**The Newcomer- **I agree. :)

**Guest- **Thank you for your nice words! Your review made me smile. I've always been curious about the inner workings of Unitology, and since the Wiki page for it doesn't really give a lot of information on the practices, I thought I'd write my interpretation of it. Parts of this story are based on a real life event where I almost got involved with a group I'm convinced was a cult(it was nothing like Unitology, but it was still very cultish). I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, as well as liking Riley and Lara. I've been having fun writing this story and it's nice to see you, my other reviewers, and readers are enjoying it too. :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs, plot ideas, and some locations are mine. Everything else belongs to Visceral Games/EA.

* * *

_**Three days later…**_

Despite the fact that every fiber of her being was screaming at her to turn around and walk away, Riley forced herself to walk towards the Church anyway. The low, somber chanting increased in volume as she neared the entrance, and she took some deep breaths to steel herself.

_I don't know what will happen here, _she thought, _But I'm going to find out the truth, whatever it may be. _

Riley pushed a button on the door, allowing it to slide open and let her enter the Church. She took in the tall columns resembling the Marker and the various candles, and for a second, she could see part of the reason why people would be drawn to the Church of Unitology. "Perhaps the beautiful architecture is trying to compensate for their barbaric rituals," she muttered under her breath, "Maybe so that nobody will suspect any foul play. Because how could _anything _horrible happen in such a decadent place?"

She blinked and continued on her way in order to find the room where communal prayers often took place. For the last three days, in preparation for returning to the Church, Riley had finished reading through the books she had purchased from Daina, and she felt more confident that she would be able to understand the teachings of Unitology, even if some of them sounded outlandish to her.

_Just as long as Sutton isn't here, _she thought to herself.

While she continued to look for the communal prayer, Riley also couldn't help but look for Lara as well. Did she work this late? Or were her hours only from the morning to mid-afternoon?

"_Don't tell anybody, but I'm considering firing her,_" Daina had told her after she had first met Lara, "_She's been giving the Church a lot of trouble lately._"

Riley just hoped that Daina's secretary wouldn't do anything rash that would get her in trouble. If she knew how Daina _really _felt about her…well, that would just open another can of worms.

"Lauren!"

_And speak of the devil, _Riley thought to herself as she watched Lara herself approach her.

"Hi, Lara," she greeted, "How are you this evening?"

Lara shrugged. "The same as I am all the other evenings here," she answered, "Did you get my message?"

Riley nodded. "I did. Sorry I didn't get back to you right away, but I wasn't sure if I was coming back to the Church. Besides, I was kind of surprised to hear from you, given that I'm clearly not your favorite person." She paused and frowned.

"Why do you need to talk to me so badly, anyway? What's going on? You said everything I did here was on me, so I figured you were going to let me go on about my business. Why the change, Lara?"

Lara looked around briefly before slapping a jovial expression on her face. "You know, Lauren," she said, "I think it's time we put our differences aside. Daina was right. I wasn't very nice to you when you first joined us, but I want to make amends for that. You know, start over with a blankslate. Yeah, that's it. Our friendship could use a real good _cleansing_. So how about tonight, after we're finished here, we go out for drinks? Clear the air a little bit?"

Riley blinked as she honed in on the one word Lara seemed to have emphasized. "Uhh, sure," she agreed, "See you then." Lara grinned, winked, and walked away, and as soon as she was gone, Riley sighed. She dropped her arms to her sides as she continued to walk, Lara's odd words echoing in her mind.

_No way does she want to just make amends with me, _she thought to herself, _She can't have changed her opinion of me that quickly. She made it pretty obvious from the start that she doesn't like me. She wants information. Or she knows something about that ritual._

Then she chided herself for being so quick to assume that Lara had ulterior motives for wanting to talk to her. Perhaps the secretary genuinely wanted to change her ways.

Riley eventually decided to go with her first guess: that Lara wanted information. Despite the fact that she didn't act like the rest of them, Lara was still a Unitologist, and after seeing what was happening to Sutton, Riley harbored a general distrust towards everyone affiliated with the Church.

Shaking her head, she continued to walk until she finally found the main meeting room, where Daina, Franco, some of the priests from the Symposium, and Unitologist civilians were sitting in a circle. The room was dimly lit, except for a blue hue in the stained glass windows and candles everyone was holding. After quickly scanning the room to make sure there was no sign of Sutton, Riley knocked on the door, which made all of them look up.

"Well!" Daina cried, grinning from ear to ear, "If it isn't our very own Lauren Price. I knew you would change your mind once I told you about EarthGov."

Riley fought the urge to roll her eyes, and she folded her arms instead. "I think I'm ready to embrace Altman's word," she announced, wincing at the words coming out of her mouth.

"Good," Franco piped up, "Because we're about to discuss the most important aspect of Unitology: dealing with a departure of sorts. Not necessarily death, although that's normally what we focus on the most."

Riley bristled, but forced herself to calm down as she took her seat on the floor with the others. She accepted a lit candle from one of the priests.

"Now that you're here, let's get started," Franco explained, "We usually do this once a week, so the others will bring you up to speed as we go through this activity. Now, who would like to go first?"

At first, nobody raised his or her hands, but through the candlelight, Riley could see young woman's hand go up in the air. She looked to be in her mid to late twenties, with black hair, pale skin, and a thick pair of glasses over her green eyes.

"Very well, Olivia," Daina said, nodding to her, "Proceed." The woman, Olivia, cleared her throat and took great care in not tipping the candle over.

At first, there was silence until the woman spoke. "Although I try not to think about my boyfriend, Jack," she began, "Sometimes, it's impossible not to. Even though I'm surrounded by my friends and family, I still feel…alone. Sometimes, it feels as if everything is hopeless. Like nobody can assure me that everything's okay. A depressing, crippling sensation takes over, making me want to crawl under my sheets and never leave them. Despite the fact that I don't _want _to feel this way, I still do."

There was a sense of familiarity with her words, which began to eat away at Riley. _I know how that feels, _she thought, even though she forced the unpleasant thought out of her mind.

"And why do you think you feel this way, Olivia?" Daina asked gently.

Riley watched as Olivia shifted where she sat and righted the candle after it began to tip. "Well," she began, "He was my first boyfriend. We had been going out for five years before he went away on the _Ishimura_."

"No," Daina spoke up, shaking her head, and Riley remained silent, waiting for the Unitologist's response. She was curious as to how Olivia would react as well.

"Let's look at the overall picture," Daina suggested, "You mentioned Jack being your first boyfriend, who became a part of the _Ishimura's _crew before becoming a victim of the terrorist attack. I'm very sorry for your loss, but let me ask you this: have you been in a relationship with anyone else since Jack?"

_What the hell?_ Riley thought, blinking and shaking her head in disbelief. Even through the dim light, she could see Olivia frowning as well.

"Umm, no," she replied in a terse voice, "I've been trying to heal first, which I don't think is a crime."

"Patience, Olivia," Daina chided her calmly, "I was going to say that perhaps you feel this way not because you were in a relationship with him, but because you are afraid of what he is facing on the other side now."

Olivia cocked an eyebrow at this reasoning, and Riley could see she was becoming visibly uncomfortable. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

This time, Franco spoke up instead of Daina, and everyone turned to face him. "Well, there is a reason you're here tonight, isn't there?" he offered, "And this is a discussion about learning to accept the death of loved ones. What Daina was suggesting is that you don't want to come to terms with the fact that Jack is in a better place now. A place where we will all go once we die."

"So you're telling me I shouldn't miss my boyfriend," Olivia said in a deadpan voice, "So basically, I'm supposed to suck it up and get over the fact that he's gone. Is that what you're saying?"

Even though the attention wasn't directed towards her at the moment, Riley still couldn't help but feel nervous for Olivia. She reminded her or herself, and she wondered how Daina and Franco were going to react to her obvious skepticism towards Unitology's teachings.

"What we're saying is that you should think of the paradise that he's in now," Franco continued, "Something so much better than the universe we live in now. Humanity is becoming more and more corrupted each day, and Jack doesn't have to suffer anymore." Olivia sighed, and Daina used that opportunity to direct attention to the rest of the members of the circle.

"Would anyone like to elaborate on Olivia's thoughts about all this?" she asked, glancing at the other people sitting around her. Nobody said anything in response, and even Riley remained quiet as she looked down at the ground, clutching the candle even tighter in her hands. _Hmm, _she thought.

"No one?" Daina pressed after a minute or two. She blinked and looked around again before finally settling on Riley.

"How about you, Lauren?" she questioned, "Perhaps if I'm less formal with you, you'll be more willing to give your opinion. In fact, I'm surprised you don't have anything to say about all this."

Riley finally looked up again, narrowing her eyes as she caught everyone staring at her. "I'm just listening," she said.

"Then maybe you'd like to offer a little insight into why Olivia feels the way she does," the Unitologist quipped with a growing smirk on her face, "After all, judging by the first day we met, you seem to be familiar with the concept of losing someone close to you. As a matter of fact, I think that's why you left the sibling question on your assessment blank."

At that, Riley set her candle down and clenched her fists. "That's personal," she answered in what she hoped was a calm voice, "And I thought the assessment results were supposed to be confidential."

"I never said they were confidential. There are no secrets between our members, Lauren. I've made that clear to you before. Besides, the others here may help you and Olivia become more comfortable in confiding in all of us. We _are _here for you, even if it doesn't seem like it." She continued to smirk.

"Now that that's out of the way, is there something you'd like to share with us? To help shed some light onto Olivia's plight? Do you know what it's like to lose someone close to you? A sister or brother, perhaps?"

Riley could feel her breathing pick up, but she still forced herself to remain calm. She could almost hear Peter's voice in her head telling her, _Whatever you do, don't give them what they want._ _Don't give in. _

"Nobody's here to judge you, Lauren," Daina reminded her, "We just want you to feel at home here."

Riley still didn't answer, but she could feel everyone staring at her as she retreated into her memories, remembering the day her family had changed forever…

* * *

_The day had started out perfectly. Riley had been out with Madison and Sutton, since they all had the day off from their jobs, and the three of them were relaxing at the Titan Resort, like they always did. There were no televisions in the resort, which was done intentionally to give the civilians a chance to escape from reality for a little bit. _

_ Riley climbed out of the pool just as she, Madison, and Sutton finished swimming laps and were ready to call it a day and go get drinks. "I have to say," Riley quipped, "I can't believe we haven't gone swimming in a while. I kind of missed it." _

_ "I know," Madison agreed, "And the fact that this resort looks like Planet Earth…" She trailed off there. _

_ "I wonder what it would be like to go there," she added a minute later. _

_ "Me too," Sutton piped up from next to her, "But we'll probably never know. I mean, from what I've heard, there's all sorts of pollution and filth on that planet. Seems we're better living here in space." _

_ "I doubt it'll last forever," Riley opined, "Maybe someday, we can go back." _

_ The three women dried off and were just deciding which bar they should go to when Riley heard her audio RIG go off. She stuck the earpiece in before accepting the call. "Hello?" she asked. _

_ "Riley, it's Mom," her mother greeted from her end in an oddly quiet voice. _

_ "Hey, Mom," Riley replied, taking note of how strange her mother sounded right now, "What's up?"_

_ Fiona sighed. "I know you're out with your friends right now," she said, "And I'm sorry to ask you to do this, but do you think you could stop by the apartment right now? There's something your father and I have to tell you." _

_ Riley's heart began to beat faster as she suddenly felt nervous. "Mom?" she questioned, "You're starting to scare me. What's going on?" _

_ "I don't want to talk about this over the RIGs," Fiona replied, "Just…please come over, okay?" Her voice broke, as if she was starting to cry, which scared Riley even more. _

_ "Okay, I'm on my way." She hung up the RIG and faced her friends. _

_ "I'm sorry, guys," she apologized, "But I have to go. My mom just called me and she sounded really upset about something." _

_ "Did she say why?" Madison asked with concern. _

_ "No. Whatever it is, she wants to tell me in person." _

_ "Want us to go with you?" Sutton offered. _

_ "No, thanks," Riley declined, "I better get going. I'll talk to you guys later." And with that, she hurried away from the resort and hopped on the first available tram leaving the Concourse. She was anxious the entire ride back to Titan Heights, and she wondered what her parents could possibly need to tell her that they wanted her there in person. _

_ As soon as she arrived at her building, she immediately walked up to her parents' apartment and hurriedly rang the doorbell. She was eager to find out what was going on and she didn't think she could wait any longer. Finally, after a few seconds, her father answered the door. _

_ "Hey, Dad," Riley whispered, hugging him and noticing that he returned a much tighter embrace. _

_ "Hi, Riley," Ed greeted as he held his daughter, tears pooling in his eyes, "I'm so glad to see you. Come in." _

_ Riley took careful steps into the apartment, the sound of the living room television reaching her ears. She rounded the corner and spotted her mother staring blankly at the screen, which was currently running a breaking news story about a terrorist attack on the USG Ishimura. Riley's heart immediately began to hammer, a feeling of dread creeping through her veins as the headlines continued to talk about the attack on the planet cracker. _

_ "Oh my God," she whispered under her breath, "What…what happened? When did this happen?" _

_ "A little while ago," Ed answered, moving to sit next to his daughter as he put one arm around her and the other around his wife, "Nobody knows what happened, just that the ship was under attack. And…and…" He couldn't finish as he lowered his head in sadness. Fiona continued to weep, and Riley stared frantically from her to her father. _

_ "There's something else, isn't there?" she realized, "What about Peter?" _

_ Neither one of her parents answered, and her mother only continued to cry, which left Riley to assume the worst. She thought her heart would burst from the constant adrenaline rush from being so nervous, and a sweat broke out on her forehead. _

_ "Mom? Dad?" she pressed, "What about Peter? He's all right, isn't he?" _

_ Fiona glanced up, wiped the tears out of her eyes, and looked her daughter directly in the eye as a fresh batch of tears made their way down her cheeks. _

_ "Your brother's dead," was all she said in response. _

_ Riley felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. The blood drained from her face and she felt like she would burst right then and there. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, let alone even begin to accept it. "No…" she whispered, "No, he can't be! He isn't!" _

_ Ed sighed and hugged her again. "We got a message from Tiedemann explaining what happened," he explained in a gentle voice, "Said there were no survivors. I just…I can't…" _

_ "NO!" Riley shouted as she finally began to cry as well, burying her face in her hands as she let the tears rip. She could feel both her parents patting her shoulders, but that did little to comfort her. She thought about her nice, smart, funny, and slightly reckless older brother as she continued to cry. She felt numb all over as she listened to her parents turn the television off. She felt relieved; she didn't think she could hear anymore about what had happened on the Ishimura. _

_ For the next several minutes, Riley, Fiona, and Ed all wept, hugging each other and not wanting to let go. They acknowledged that they were all that they had now, but Riley couldn't help but continue to shed her tears. _

_ That night, Riley hadn't been able to sleep, only staring at a picture of her and Peter before burying her face in her pillow. The days following that one had been the worst. Thousands of memorial services popped up all over Titan Station, including one large gathering led by Hans Tiedemann himself. Riley remembered sobbing as the director read off all the names of the victims, including Medical Lab Technician Peter Bennett, and then concluded the service by promising to help all the families who had lost somebody pay for the funeral expenses. _

_ Even though the attacks hadn't been Tiedemann's fault, Riley still blocked out his words. She didn't want to hear him speak anymore. Once her cries reduced to silent tears, she just leaned her head against her mother's shoulder, trying to pretend that it was not her brother that was gone, but someone else entirely. _

_ No. Peter wasn't dead. This was all one big practical joke. She refused to believe he was gone. He would come back, she convinced herself. He would reappear and come home again, and this would all just be a horrible nightmare. _

* * *

Once reality had settled in, Riley remembered her slow journey out of denial through the help of Doctor Graham. The therapist had helped her learn how to deal with her brother's death, even though she knew she would never get over it. As far as she was concerned, she had been somewhat healed.

So why was the Church trying to tear down everything that had helped her put herself back together?

"All right," Riley spoke up, looking up, "Say I did lose a sibling, hypothetically speaking. I think I'd want to be able to learn how to cope with it on my own terms in the same way Olivia wants to do that for her boyfriend. What methods does the Church use to help with this task?"

Daina smiled and tilted her head to the side. "Ahh, Lauren," she sighed, "You still have a lot to learn about our ways. Don't worry. We'll teach you everything you need to know, because let's face it: you were not speaking hypothetically just now. You know it and I know it. All you have to do is admit it."

Riley gritted her teeth and began to take deep breaths, shaking with simmering anger as her cheeks burned and flushed a deep red. _Don't do it, Riley, _she coaxed herself, _Don't rise to the occasion. _

"What's the matter, Lauren?" Daina asked in a mock-concerned voice, "Afraid to confront your weaknesses? Afraid to acknowledge that you're human, just like the rest of us? We've all recognized our flaws and are working on how we can improve and prepare ourselves for Convergence. But it seems you don't want to do the same. You're not perfect, Lauren, no matter how much you think you are."

_That's it! _Riley thought, and despite the fact that she tried to keep calm, she still jumped up from the ground in anger, screaming and holding a fist out in front of her as if she was going to punch Daina across the face. The rest of the Unitologists around her gasped as one of the priests grabbed Riley and pulled her away from Daina. She struggled against his grasp, but he held her in place so that she wouldn't do anything rash.

"Lauren!" he cried, "Lauren, calm down!"

"Get your hands off me!" Riley snapped, shaking the priest off her and keeping her hands balled into fists. She glared at Daina, who was watching her with a mix of surprise, apprehension, and satisfaction. She suddenly realized why "Lauren Price" always seemed to wear a neutral expression on her face…to keep from snapping like this. She wondered how often the girl had experienced outbursts like this, but she was determined to find out.

From Riley's end, all she could see was the smirk on Daina's face, which made her want to wipe the condescending expression off her face. At the same time, the full weight of what had just happened hit her as if she were being thrown in that large tub again. _Damn it, _she thought as the anger began to slowly ebb away, allowing her to think rationally again, _I just gave her exactly what she wanted: a weakness. Stupid, stupid me! _

"Well, that was certainly…interesting," Daina said, getting over her initial shock as all the others in the room eyed Riley warily, but didn't jump in to back her up when she had been ready to tackle Daina to the ground.

"I never knew you to be so emotional, Lauren," she continued, which earned a laugh from the priests. Riley gawked at them in disbelief while Olivia, the only one other than Daina and Franco who hadn't joined the laughter, stared at her with sympathy. _Don't even think about it, Olivia, _she thought viciously, _You didn't step in to defend me earlier._

"Are you ready to talk now?" Daina questioned, but before Riley could say anything, everyone in the room suddenly heard the fire alarms go off.

"What the…" Franco whispered, "What the hell is going on?"

Riley looked up, wondering if someone in their group had knocked a candle over by accident, but everything seemed to be intact here.

"Daina! Franco!"

Everyone looked up as Lara entered the room, a frantic expression on her face.

"One of the candles in the Relic Room fell over and started a fire!" she yelled.

"_What?_" one of the priests gasped.

"_Damn it!_" Daina hissed, "Everyone, get out of here! We'll reconvene tomorrow evening."

Riley was just starting to smell smoke as she put her candle out and stood up, following the others out of the room in a single line. Once they were outside, the group began to disperse, and she felt someone grab her arm and begin to lead her away. At first, she struggled, but then stopped when she saw who it was.

"Jesus, Lara," she hissed, "What the hell is going on? What are you doing?"

"Like I said," Lara replied in a distant tone of voice, "A candle fell over."

Riley closed her mouth and frowned in thought, but refrained from speaking until they were further away from the Church. She wasn't sure where they were going, but it didn't look like it was in the direction of any bar she was familiar with.

"Where are we going?" she asked again.

"You'll see," Lara insisted, continuing to drag Riley until they were deeper in the Residential Section. All around them was an unfamiliar place that the journalist had never seen before.

In fact, after blinking a few times, she could see what looked like trees, flowers, and grass. She didn't know where they had come from, or why they were here, but the whole setup reminded her of all the pictures she had seen of Planet Earth before it had become contaminated. Above them was a large, artificial light that she assumed was supposed to be the Sun, since they were right next to Saturn and nowhere near the center of the Solar System, and Riley couldn't help but gawk at the sight. It was all so…so _beautiful. _So full of life.

And it didn't hurt that all the leaves and grass happened to be a bright shade of green, her favorite color.

"Titan Gardens," Lara explained, noticing the mesmerized expression on Riley's face, "Created to let people on the _Sprawl _experience what it's like to be on a planet. Of course, we all know this is nothing like Earth, but people still like to pretend anyway. I come here all the time, especially whenever my parents start their Unitology rants. It really clears the mind and helps me think. More than that pointless, uncomfortable Marker meditation."

"Wow," Riley whispered, continuing to stare in awe. _How did I not know about this before? _She thought to herself.

"It's strange," she continued, "I grew up here my whole life, and I've never even heard of this place until now. How did you discover it?"

Lara grinned impishly. "I'm a bit of a rebel," she admitted, "I used to go out alone a lot, trying to find new places on this station, and this is one of my favorite locations. Come on."

The two women continued on their way until they came across the tallest tree in the garden. It was furthest away from the entrance, so the chance of anyone eavesdropping on them was slim to none. Lara gestured for Riley to sit on the grass, and they kicked off their shoes, taking in the breeze blowing on them from a few nearby fans. Riley looked around, admiring the leaves and realizing that she was feeling a lot calmer than she had at the Church.

"So, Miss Rebel," she began, "I assume _you're _the one that started the fire in the Church?"

"Yes," Lara confirmed, nodding as her smile faded, "I saw what was happening to you in the meeting room with Daina and I had to get you out of there somehow."

Riley shook her head. "You're insane. You know that? Won't they realize it was you? And what if some of the Relics are destroyed?"

Lara waved a hand nonchalantly. "As far as they're concerned, a candle fell over," she said, "Unitologists are notorious for leaving candles in precarious spots. Maybe now, they'll think twice before they lose their precious Relics."

Riley cocked an eyebrow, wondering again why the hell Lara Turner seemed to be having a change of heart. "Well…thanks," she thanked the Unitologist in a quiet voice, "You know…for trying to help me out. But Daina got to me. I…kind of lost my cool in there. No, not kind of. I _did _lose my cool."

"Was it because of this?" Riley widened her eyes as Lara pulled out a folder labeled _Soul Cleansing Ritual. That's why she said our friendship needed a good cleansing, _she realized.

"What the hell?" Riley gasped, "Where did you get that?"

"'_The Soul Cleansing Ritual_'," Lara read, ignoring her as she opened the folder, "'_Is a special rite of passage designed to purify the body, soul, and mind of the initiate entering the Church. Upon contact with a large body of water, the new member should feel invigorated, clean, and ready to start over in the teachings of Altman. For the most part, all Unitologists who have gone through this have reported feeling better about themselves and their situation, and were ready to start over with a clean slate.'" _She closed the folder and glanced up at Riley.

"I found this in Daina's drawers and I made a copy of the contents of the folder for myself," she explained, "Is this what they did to you that night after the Symposium?"

Riley didn't answer, but instead looked down at her hands, not wanting to bring up the fact that she had nearly drowned and was now afraid to go anywhere near a body of water. She also didn't want to admit to seeing Peter's ghost, which would only bring her back to how much Daina had upset her at tonight's meeting.

Lara could sense how uncomfortable the other woman was. "It's okay, Lauren," she said calmly, "I'm not like the others. You can tell me and I won't rake you over the coals for it."

Riley glared at her. "Well, this is certainly a change, isn't it?" she hissed, "First, you call me an idiot for wanting to join the Church, and now, you want to help me? Like I asked you before, why the change of heart? What's the _real _reason?"

Daina's secretary sighed, realizing that "Lauren" had a right to mistrust her. She hadn't been very hospitable to her in the beginning, so why else would she question this change? Lara couldn't say she liked her. That would be a lie. So instead, she gave a different answer. One that was more truthful.

"You're trying to get in the Church. I'm trying to get out. In the meantime, I've been attempting to take as many people with me as possible, but they've all been brainwashed beyond reasoning. I refuse to let that happen to you, too. I saw the way Daina was bullying you and I feel bad that I couldn't do something before it got that serious. It's how they try and break you. You can't let them get to you like that. I'm not too worried about you as far as that goes, though. You seem resilient enough. I just don't want you to end up like the others I tried to save. Don't you understand?"

Riley thought about how angry Daina had made her, and she felt her stomach sink as she recalled how the Unitologist had tried to use her brother's death against her. _I can't believe I caved like that, _she thought to herself, _I'll never, ever let that happen again. And Lara…I still don't know about her. There's got to be something else besides trying to get me out of the Church. Why else would she make copies of the Soul Cleansing Ritual papers other than for herself? Maybe…she really does want to help me. She's sounding less and less like the rest of the Unitologists the longer I get to know her. _

"Of course I understand," she answered, "But you're wrong about one thing: I wasn't upset because of the ritual. It was a lot more personal than that…"

And with that, she began to talk about the group meeting without revealing who she really was, and Lara frowned as she began to listen aptly.

* * *

The smoke was suffocating, and Daina covered her nose as she waited for some of the priests to completely douse the flames. Fortunately, they had all reached the room in time before the fire spread to the rest of the Church, but they were still puzzled by how this could have happened. _Hmm, _Daina thought, rubbing her chin in thought.

"Maybe we should be more careful with these candles," one of the priests said as he extinguished all the candles in the room.

"Well," Daina choked, "It could have been a lot worse. Let's just make sure none of the relics have been damaged."

While they surveyed the damage, Daina noticed that Franco was unusually quiet. Instead, he just picked up all the items and made sure they were intact. "What's wrong, Franco?" she asked, "Are you worried that we lost anything we can't recover?"

Franco shook his head. "No, it's not that," he answered, "It's just…you know I'm as devoted to Unitology as you are, and I'm all for breaking in new members, but perhaps-and don't take this the wrong way-you were a little too brutal with Lauren during the meeting earlier. I mean, you _humiliated _her in front of the whole group. The only reason she snapped was because you pushed her. It just didn't seem right, that's all."

Daina sighed as she picked up a small Marker statue and held it in her hands. "You know I don't enjoy doing that to other members, Franco," she replied, "But with people like Lauren Price, an exception has to be made. You weren't around the last time we had a member like her, so I know you're not familiar with the methods of breaking them in. I told you she was going to be a tough one to crack. Resilient and arrogant on top of that. I have mentioned before that she is too confident for her own good. Strip that away, and what do you have left? A person who will see the error of her ways and come to accept that she needs to change. And the Church can help with that."

Hearing Daina actually justify her reasons for bullying Lauren made Franco's head spin. He didn't know how he felt about the whole situation, but he _did _know that something had to be done to eliminate the tension between Lauren and Daina. "I don't think she'll want to deal with you after this," he said, "What if I took over for a while? Granted, she won't warm up to me either, after what happened at the Symposium, but she might change her mind."

"It's not a question of _might_," Daina insisted, "She _will _change her mind. That's how people like her work. And trust me, Franco…she'll want our help. Are we clear on that?"

Franco waved some stray smoke away as he locked eyes with Daina, nodding and deciding it was best not to challenge her word.

"Yes."


	9. Chapter 9

Okay! Here's the next chapter of "730 Days of Convergence"! I'm very sorry for the long wait. I've been very busy with school, plus, my laptop crashed, and even though it's fixed now, I've lost three years of fanfiction story ideas, chapters, documents for school, etc. I was pretty down about it for a while, but I'm feeling much better about it now, and I should be able to get back to updating regularly again. Thank you to everyone who's been reading and reviewing this story! :)

**Guest Review Corner:**

**Mr. Anonymous- **Knowing the Church, anything could happen. Now that my computer's been fixed, I'm gonna see if I can try to update every weekend. Hopefully, I'll be able to.

**The Newcomer- **I was tossing a similar idea around for a while. I'm not sure if I'm gonna use it yet, but it's something I'm definitely considering. And I'll try and get the Hive Mind somewhere in Journey into Darkness.

**Guest- **Yeah, I don't think Riley's quite the same girl she was at the beginning of the story. ;)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and plot ideas are mine. Everything else belongs to Visceral Games/EA.

* * *

"So she tried to use your dead brother against you, huh?" Lara asked, resting her head against the tree, "I'm sorry she had to bring that up. I can imagine it must be difficult to hear about it after trying to cope with it for so long."

Riley nodded, an image of Peter flashing in front of her. "Well, I have to say you did a pretty good job of keeping yourself composed for as long as you did," Lara continued, "Usually, other people are ready to throttle her in seconds."

"Believe me, I wanted to," Riley said, "But I refuse to give her that satisfaction. I can join the Church without bending to her will."

Lara scoffed. "Don't let Daina hear you say that, or else she'll try and break you even more. Unfortunately, you've already given her the leverage she needs to do so."

Riley sighed dejectedly. "I know," she reluctantly admitted, "But I'm only human. No matter how much I think I am, I'm not perfect." She said this with an edge, which made Lara chuckle.

"She really said all that to you, huh?" the secretary asked as a wry grin spread across Riley's face.

"Yeah," she quipped, "I don't know where she got the idea that I thought I was perfect. I know I'm not. I guess you see that now."

"Like you said," Lara spoke up, "You're only human. One of the tougher ones I've met, but still human. It's normal for things to get under your skin. It's just how you manage it that's the key. All those other new members of the Church? Forget it. They walk in with a mind of their own, and they walk out chanting _Altman Be Praised. _And that's just after a few weeks. The fact that it's been about the same amount of time and you _still _haven't given in to them…I'm impressed, Lauren. I really am. I didn't think you could do it, but you proved me wrong."

Riley blushed and looked down at the grass, plucking some blades and tearing them with her hands. "All I want is the truth behind Altman's word," she answered, realizing her words had a double meaning to them, "Whatever that may be."

"And you'll get it," Lara assured her, "Trust me. At least, you'll know more than I do."

Riley looked up again and raised her eyebrows in confusion. "You told me your parents are Unitologists," she recalled, "I'm assuming they're full time members of the Church. Why aren't _you_? I would have thought you would be, since you're their daughter. Why would they keep you away from that?"

This time, Lara was the one who tore some blades of grass as she smiled ruefully. "They didn't keep me away from anything," she explained in a flat voice, "I chose not to go on in my studies."

_Hold on, _Riley thought, perking up. "Wait a minute!" she cried, "You can _choose _not to continue? It's that easy to make that decision?"

Now, Lara was grinning. "No," she admitted, "I just didn't want to become a part of the Church, even though my family forced me into it. In the end, they agreed to keep me as a part time member as long as I worked for them. Basically, a part time member only knows about the public meetings and such, but not things like the Soul Cleansing Ritual. My father, admittedly, pulled some strings to ensure that we would still have good relations with Daina." Her voice was bitter now, and Riley found herself frowning in sympathy. _Of course, this could all be an act, _she reminded herself, _But for some reason, I doubt it, especially after the way she's been acting. _

"I'm sorry if I'm boring you with all these rants," Lara apologized, "It's just that meeting sane people in the Church of Unitology is a rare occasion, and it's nice to know that I'm not alone."

"You're never alone," Riley retorted, remembering something Doctor Graham had told her last year, "None of us are ever alone in this world. It doesn't matter where you are. There will always be someone in a situation similar to yours. It's just a matter of knowing _when_."

* * *

_**Titan News Headquarters, the next morning…**_

"I don't care what you say! I don't need to talk to anyone about anything!"

Riley's hairs stood on end as the unmistakable sound of Sutton screaming reached her ears. _Oh, God, _she thought, rubbing her eyes, which were stinging from lack of sleep yet again.

"But Sutton!" Madison's higher-pitched voice spoke up next, "She can help you understand why you're becoming obsessed with Unitology-"

"I am not becoming _obsessed! _I'm offended that you would even think that! _You_, out of all people! You're supposed to be one of my best friends!"

"But Sutton-"

"No! I'm not going, and that's final!" With that, Sutton stomped out of Madison's office, glaring at Riley and taking off without saying a word. The latter just blinked, confused, before entering her friend's office. Madison was sitting at her desk, her hands shaking as she bit her lower lip.

"What happened?" Riley asked anxiously.

Without answering at first, Madison dropped a brochure on her desk, and Riley picked it up. "Doctor Elise Graham?" she questioned, "You recommended Sutton to talk to my therapist, I'm guessing?"

"She was the only one who wasn't completely booked at this time," Madison insisted, "I tried to find someone else, but ever since the _Ishimura's _been recovered, everyone's been flocking to therapy, so it was pretty hard to find someone who still had some appointments available. When I tried to bring it up with Sutton now…well, you must have heard how that went." She sat down at the desk and furiously began to type away on her computer, as if to distract herself.

"It's weird, you know?" she continued, "How when you were feeling down about Peter, Sutton was willing to help you, but she won't let us help her."

"When it's you, it's a whole different story," Riley reasoned, "And her situation is completely different from mine, too."

"I guess so. But every time she gets angry with us, she seems to forget that we're doing all this because we're her friends and we care about her."

Riley nodded grimly, pulled up a chair, and sat down across from her friend. "You know what we need to do?" she asked, "Have an intervention. You, me, and Marcus, and if it gets extreme, we can get my parents and her parents involved as well. So why don't we meet her at the hospital once our shifts are over and see if we can all convince her to talk to Elise?"

Madison cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's gonna work, Riley? I mean, you saw how she was just now…"

Riley narrowed her eyes. "We'll _make _it work," she assured her, "Don't worry. Sutton helped me get back on my feet enough to get me to continue helping myself, and now it's time for me to repay her." And with that, she got up and left the room, returning to her own office as she shut the door, put her bag down, and logged onto her computer. While she waited for her desktop to appear, she rubbed her eyes again, willing herself to stay away long enough to stare at a computer screen for hours. The most she had slept was at least two hours due to a dream where she found out Daina had been the one who sent her that threatening email, as well as discovered her undercover mission. She had woken up in a sweat and clutched her chest, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

_It was just a dream, Riley, _she told herself, _That's all. Just a horrible dream. _

Still, she couldn't help but wonder if it had been Daina. Or possibly Franco. He was working closely with her. He would have access to anything she knew.

_But how would the Church know anything about the Ishimura? They only know what we know-the terrorist attack._

Riley was so lost in thought that she didn't notice that her answering machine was blinking. Frowning, she picked it up and pressed a few buttons, sticking the associated RIG into her ear.

"_You have one new message,_" it announced, "_Accessing message._"

"_Good morning, Miss Bennett,_" Director Tiedemann's voice poured into her ear, "_I'm just calling to inform you that we are continuing to investigate into the harassment complaint you filed last week. I will call you again once we've gotten new information. In the mean time, take precautions and do not share your contact information with anyone you don't know. Good luck with everything, and have a good day._" The message ended there, and Riley ripped the RIG out of her ear and slammed it on the desk, leaving it in a tangled mess of wires. No matter how much she wanted to see the good in EarthGov, she was growing increasingly suspicious that they weren't looking into the threat at all. If it took Tiedemann this long to get back to her…who knew _what _they were doing during the long period of time she hadn't heard from them? Any more lost time and she'd soon have to start investigating it herself. She had been trying to take her parents' and Sutton's advice to relax, but with this, she couldn't. The way she saw it was that there should have been something more conclusive by now, with the advanced technology all over the _Sprawl._

She sighed and pulled up her itinerary for the day, wondering if, perhaps, she was over thinking the situation. She realized she was trying to find a reason or excuse for everything, feeling the need to dissect every detail of every incident. She had always been an analytical person, but she seemed to be that way even more after last year.

"With a mind like yours, you should be a detective," Peter used to tell her when they were younger. Riley smiled at the memory as she focused on her continuing coverage of the CEC's current employment issue, wondering what her life would be like if she was actually a detective for Tiedemann's police force.

* * *

_**Later on that day… **_

"God, please let this work," Marcus prayed as he, Riley, and Madison entered the hospital after meeting at the end of their respective shifts.

"It _will _work," Riley declared firmly, narrowing her eyes in determination. Not that she wasn't considering making a backup plan if this one didn't work, but she hoped they would be able to carry this out without a hitch.

Besides, it would give her something to take her mind off Daina attempting to break her the previous night. _I never knew you could be so emotional, Lauren, _she had taunted, which made the journalist ball her hands into fists.

"You okay?" Madison inquired, looking worried about her friend.

"I'm fine," Riley said, nodding tersely, "Just a little nervous about this. Either Sutton will listen to us, or she'll end her friendship with us. I'm hoping that won't happen, but we'll have to be careful."

"That's for sure," Marcus said, and Riley waited as the CEC engineer signed in with the receptionists.

"Do you ladies have any idea why Doctor Edgars doesn't want me visiting my mother anymore?" he asked with a concerned expression on his face.

"I don't know, Marcus," one of them, Nita, answered with a shrug, "None of the rest of the hospital staff tells us anything anymore. Used to be that we would be the first ones to know, but if we hear anything, we'll be sure to let you and your friends know."

"Thanks, Nita," Marcus thanked her, "We appreciate your help." Nita winked and allowed the trio to head over to the Stasis hallway, and they eventually arrived at Rochelle DeMaio's pod. The corridor was quiet, as always, and Marcus looked around briefly before giving Riley a meaningful look.

"This is where I saw Patient Five," he explained to her, jutting his chin towards the opposite end of the hallway.

"In one of these Stasis units?" Riley asked, widening her eyes as she took in the row of pods.

Marcus nodded. "Dr. Edgars was placing him back in his assigned unit, and that's when he tried to shoo me away."

"Who's Patient Five?" Madison inquired, not taking her eyes off Rochelle's charts that were next to her pod.

"I don't know his real name," Marcus admitted, "But when I was visiting my mother a few weeks ago, Dr. Edgars was putting him back in Stasis. For some reason, his right eye was bleeding."

Madison shuddered. "I hope they're not hurting any of the patients in here," she whispered, "What do you think Edgars was up to?"

Riley and Marcus shrugged, and Riley frowned as she thought about the fact that EarthGov seemed to be behind this. Why would they be making a man's eye bleed, if not to hurt him? There couldn't be a good reason behind this.

_Maybe that's my old EarthGov paranoia taking over, _she thought, sighing, _We're not here for that. We're here to help Sutton._

Even so, she was still curious about Patient Five. Who was he that he would need to be confined to this hospital? In the years she had visited Sutton during her breaks, she had never heard of the hospital employees abusing their patients, but now, she was having her doubts.

"EarthGov's lies," she whispered under her breath, causing Madison to raise her eyebrows.

"What?" the news anchor asked.

"Is Patient Five's stasis unit around here?" Riley asked Marcus.

Sutton's boyfriend nodded. "Right there," he answered, pointing to the one closest to Madison. Riley nodded and marched up to it so that she could read the charts.

"Riley, what's going on?" Madison asked, confused, "What do you mean, 'EarthGov's lies'?"

But before Riley could begin her investigation, all three of them suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice from the opposite end of the hallway, making them pause what they were doing.

"_Alexis?_"

Riley, Madison, and Marcus blinked as they whirled around and spotted a man staring at them with wide, blue eyes. His black hair was tousled, but his expression was frantic, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"That's him," Marcus whispered to her, "Patient Five."

Riley looked around, wondering who this man could possibly be addressing, but the longer he continued to stare at her, the more she realized who exactly he was talking to.

"Alexis!" the man cried again, "It's me! It's Nolan!"

"Me?" Riley asked, pointing at herself, "You mean me?"

The man, Nolan, chuckled. "Come on, Lex," he said, "Don't play that game. You don't remember me?"

"Who's Alexis?" Madison whispered to her friends, but Riley ignored her as she shook her head and grabbed the other's hands to pull them away.

"I'm sorry," she apologized gently, "But you have me mistaken for someone else. I'm not Alexis."

"Yes, you are!" Nolan insisted, "Stop doing this to me!"

"Come on, let's go," Marcus said, and the three of them began to slowly walk away. Riley wasn't sure why this man was insisting she was someone named Alexis, and she suddenly wanted to know the same thing Madison did. Who was this mysterious woman?

"Wait!" Nolan shouted after them, "Alexis, come back! Where's my son? I want to see my son!"

Riley allowed herself to glance over her shoulder, and she gasped as she realized Nolan was actually starting to follow them down the hallway. "What is he talking about?" Madison asked, looking behind them as well.

"Don't engage him," Marcus told her, "Just keep walking."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Riley questioned, "It doesn't look like he's going to go away that easily."

At the same time, the journalist didn't know what to make of this, either. Why was this man calling her Alexis? What did he want with her? He mentioned having a son. Was Alexis his wife, then?

Before Riley could ponder the situation any more, she gasped as she suddenly felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder and spin her around, and she found herself face to face with Patient Five again.

"Alexis, please!" he yelled, "Just listen to me!"

"Get off her!" Marcus snapped, pushing him away, which he regretted a second later.

In a flash, Nolan went from frantic to angry, and he growled as he grabbed Marcus and slammed him against the wall. "Stop it!" Riley yelled, trying to pull Sutton's boyfriend away from Nolan, only to get shoved to the side in the process.

"Help!" Madison screamed, looking frantically down the hallway, "Somebody help us!"

Riley rubbed her shoulder, where a bruise was beginning to form underneath her sleeve, but she ignored it for the time being as she tried to pull Marcus away from the wall again after Nolan tried to punch him across the face.

"Listen, Nolan," she spoke up in a calm voice, "You need to back off, okay? There's no need to get violent."

"We need to get out of here _now_!" Nolan cried, grabbing Riley's wrist, "They're coming! _It's _coming!"

"That's enough, Stross!"

All four of them looked up as Dr. Edgars sprinted towards them with a few other nurses in tow.

"Nurse, get his straitjacket," Edgars ordered.

"No!" Stross protested, trying to wrestle his way out of the straitjacket a nurse was now trying to slip over him, "That's my wife! My son! Let me see my family!"

"I said that's _enough_, Stross!" Riley, Madison, and Marcus watched as the doctor took out a needle and injected it into Patient Five's neck, which Riley realized was a sedative as soon as Stross began to lose his will to fight. He eventually stopped struggling and allowed the nurses to lead him away. Riley sighed as she touched the hand print on her wrist where Stross had grabbed her. There was nothing she could do but watch as the man slowly disappeared around the corner. The only one who didn't go with them was Doctor Edgars, who faced the remaining trio with a look that indicated he was none too pleased with them.

"Nurse Peterson?" he said into his RIG, "Make sure Mr. Stross doesn't somehow wander out of the rehabilitation room again."

"_Got it, sir!_" the nurse replied from her end as Edgars switched his RIG off and pointed at Riley, Marcus, and Madison.

"You three, follow me," he ordered, and they began to head towards his office. Judging from Marcus's previous encounter with the secretive doctor, Riley realized this wasn't going to turn out well.

Just before they left the area, Riley turned around in time to catch Franco Delille hiding in a secluded corner as he observed the scene in front of him and took notes on a notepad.

* * *

"Sit," Edgars ordered as the door slid shut behind him.

"Why?" Riley asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Just sit. I have something very _serious _that I need to discuss with you. Something I'm afraid wasn't made very _clear _the first time." He glared at Marcus, who returned it as he pulled out a chair and sat down. Madison took her place on Riley's other side, leaving the journalist to take the middle seat. She briefly looked around at the office, which was bathed in a sickly yellow light, almost like the color of jaundice. There were all sorts of medical books on the shelves and holographic screens on the desk. Overall, it didn't seem to give off pleasant working environment vibes like the _Titan News _offices did.

"Your mother is in one of the stasis units in this area, right?" Edgars asked, "Rochelle DeMaio, you said the other time?"

"Yes, she is," Marcus quipped, "Why do you ask, Doctor?"

Nodding, Edgars took out a pad and made a quick note for himself. "I'm sorry to tell you this," he said, "But I'm afraid she will not be allowed to have any visitors anymore."

"_No!_" Marcus shouted.

"_What?_" Madison gasped.

"That's not fair!" Riley protested, "He didn't do anything wrong! None of us did!"

"I asked Mister DeMaio to leave the last time I caught him around this part of the hospital," Edgars explained calmly, "And it seems he has trouble following directions. It's only fair that I end his visitation rights."

Marcus frowned again and leaped up from his chair. "It's not my fault you guys are doing something top secret in here!" he growled.

"_Marcus_," Riley hissed in a warning tone under her breath, squeezing her hands together on her lap. Madison glanced back and forth between Edgars and her friends, wondering what would happen from there.

"Oh?" the Doctor asked, raising an eyebrow, "And what makes you think we're working on a top secret project?"

Marcus paused, realizing the mistake he had made. "Oh," he echoed, "Well…the way you don't want us around this part of the hospital, for one. And two-"

"Marcus!" Madison spoke up, "Just stop, okay?"

Marcus blinked. "But Madison-"

"_Marcus!_" Riley hissed again, and the CEC engineer gave both of them confused looks before sitting down once more.

"Well, Mr. DeMaio," Edgars said, clearing his throat, "I can assure you that we're just taking care of all our patients in the best way we can. What you saw today was an example of what happens when patients reject their treatment. Nolan Stross is not sound-minded, and with patients like him, we have to use extra force. I'd say that's nothing out of the ordinary, right?"

"Right!" Riley and Madison chimed in unison.

"Whatever you need to do to make sure nobody steps out of line," Madison added for good measure, leaving Marcus to glower at her.

"Exactly," Edgars quipped, "But I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask security to escort you three out. We can't afford to have anymore of our patients attacking visitors."

_Hmm, _Riley thought, raising her chin to her hand as she considered everything that had just happened.

Before any of them could move, the door slid open again, and three security guards walked into the room to lead them out.

"Well, you take care of business quickly, don't you?" Marcus muttered sarcastically, and Madison elbowed him in the side in an attempt to quiet him down.

"Thank you, gentleman," Doctor Edgars thanked the guards, "You may show them out of the hospital."

"I'm sorry, Mom," Marcus whispered under his breath, and right before the group stepped back out into the hallway, Riley glanced over her shoulder in time to see Edgars take out a photograph of Patient Five, Nolan Stross.

* * *

"Well, that was a failure," Madison huffed, stirring her drink a little bit before sipping some of her bay breeze.

"So much for the plan working, eh, Riley?" she teased, smiling ruefully as she placed her elbows on the bar in front of her.

"So the whole Patient Five debacle threw a wrench in our attempt to reach out to Sutton," Riley agreed, "But don't worry. There's always another chance. We can talk to her in more places than just the hospital."

"Got that right," Marcus piped up. He groaned as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Damn," he cursed, "Nolan Stross is stronger than I thought."

"Are you okay?" Madison asked.

"I'm fine. My back's just going to ache for a few days, but I'll be okay." He put his hand down and sighed.

"Why were you two trying to keep me quiet back in Dr. Edgars' office?"

"Because you were about to let it slip that we're on to EarthGov," Riley answered, "I know you were trying to defend yourself, but I think it's better that they don't know how suspicious we are. We don't know who those doctors report to and it's better if we keep it secret."

_Besides, _she thought silently to herself, _Maybe I can finally figure out what lies Daina and the person who threatened me were talking about. Better yet, why was Franco at the hospital today? _

It seemed odd that a Unitologist would take interest in EarthGov's practices at the hospital, since Unitology and EarthGov didn't exactly get along with one another. Perhaps Daina didn't want to go herself, so she sent Franco in her place.

Riley then turned her thoughts back to Nolan Stross as she fingered the hand print again. She wouldn't admit it to the others, but his sudden, violent outburst had scared her. She remembered how her heart had hammered when Stross had knocked Marcus back into the wall because he had been trying to get her away from Patient Five. "They're coming!" he had said frantically before Edgars had given him a sedative, "It's coming!"

_What was he talking about? _Riley thought, _Obviously, the Church seems to be very interested in what he had to say. Everything seems to go back to that damn Church, doesn't it? _

She then thought about the fact that he had kept calling her Alexis, even _after _she had insisted that she wasn't this woman. Was he hallucinating somehow? Edgars had said he wasn't sound-minded, and it seemed to hold true in this case.

_But I heard a voice the night of the Symposium, _she reminded herself, _And then I saw Peter. Was Stross-Nolan-going through something similar? _

It seemed the only way for her to find out would be to go back to the Church yet again. Even though she was less than thrilled with them after last night's debacle, they seemed to have a lot of the answers she needed. And she _was _determined to find out more about them. It was almost as if something kept pulling her back towards Unitology, no matter how much she wanted to resist.

_Guess I'll be going back, _she thought, downing the rest of her drink as she glanced at the hand print on her wrist again.


End file.
